Atticus's Argument Against Racial Prejudice

Racial Prejudice: The Fight America has yet to Overcome In the 1930s, racial prejudice took over the lives of most citizens. African Americans were treated poorly and considered less than white people, so when Atticus Finch was in charge of defending Tom Robinson, a black man, who was accused of rape, he needed to use every tactic and technique to prove his innocence. Harper Lee clearly develops Atticus’ argument during the trial to convince the jury to vote for Tom Robinson’s acquittal and to fight against racial prejudice through language that is relevant to modern day society. Atticus’ speech is very convincing because he reminds them of the facts about the case that should prove Tom's innocence and he encourages them to focus only on the
Atticus explains how important it is that Tom’s case is treated the same way as any other case. Atticus says, “in our courts all men are created equal” (Lee 274). Atticus stresses to the jury that everyone is equal and Tom shouldn’t be judged differently because of his skin color. Atticus discusses the role of the court and how important it is for it to function properly. Atticus says, “Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury” (Lee 274). It is important for the courts to function properly because the court is a place where people rely on a jury to make a decision that could affect someone's life, so the courts should treat everyone equally. Atticus says this because he wants the jury to know that they have the power to make this decision. He wants them to make a decision without involving racism. He tells them how a court only works as well as the jury in it. Atticus is subtly hinting that if the jury makes the wrong decision then the court isn’t a good court. The conclusion of Atticus’ argument is a strong message towards the jury to make the right decision without involving