“This case is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience. I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.”
One of the defining lessons for Jem and Scout from the trial is that
“This case is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience. I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.”
One of the defining lessons for Jem and Scout from the trial is that it is important to adhere to your conscience. Atticus believes that morally, and legally, he must defend Tom Robinson against the charges of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. He knows that he is likely to fail because it is rare for an African-American, in a racist town like Maycomb, to be accorded legal justice, but this does not deter him. He states, “the one thing that does not abide by majority rule is one’s conscience.”
And again: “If I couldn’t hold up my head in turn, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”
As Heck Tate tells Jem and Scout, “some men in this world are born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father is one of them.” He knows that Atticus has the scruples and dignity to defend Tom and that his stance will directly challenge the prevailing bigoted views relating to the inferi