Good Bones Figurative Language

At the end of his closing argument he uses his own opinions, to help convince the jury. “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” This relates to Atticus's belief that all people should be treated equally especially in a court of law, where people should not be convicted solely the race they are, but rather the evidence against them. Atticus uses this idea, to try to prove to the jurors, that not coming to decision based on the real evidence present, would undermine the true purpose of the courts, to seek justice based on truth. Atticus’s last plea to the jury, trying one final time to persuade them.

In the book, Atticus has to explain this to Scout by telling her “If I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again. ”(Lee, 86). By saying this Atticus means if he denies this case he is doing the wrong thing and is running from a situation where he could help a man who has done nothing wrong, he couldn’t ask for Scout and Jem to do the right thing when he didn’t when he had the chance. This quote shows that Atticus has courage because he knows that this case isn’t being judged fairly and if he denies the trial, it shows his children that they can run away from things that challenge them. Also, by Atticus taking this case he is proving to the people that even though Tom is a colored man he should be treated and given the same efforts as a trial of a light-skinned man.

In court, Tom Robinson was declared guilty and sentenced to death. Atticus discusses the outcomes with Jem, stating that whites will always win over blacks. However, Jem argues by saying it “‘doesn’t make it right’”

They were talking if a Negro is going against a white person in a Jury the white person always win no matter who they are. In their conversation Atticus said “ In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always win. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” (220). This relates to Racial Inequality because when a white person is going against an another white person one of the person should or must be guilty.

He explains how it is not fair to Tom that just because he is black, he is unjustly accused of something. Atticus understands and tries to point out the fact that if it was a white man in Tom’s position, the jury would have a different opinion on the situation. Atticus displays a prime example of how someone should try to achieve social justice, even when the situation is unfair. Also, while saying his statements, Atticus exclaims how Tom felt sorry for a white woman, Mayella, and that he had been forced to put his own word against two white people. Here, Atticus reinforces the thought of how this jury is unfair to Tom.

As said by Atticus,” I don’t know but they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.” (213). Because Tom is judged guilty Atticus believes that the justice system is sometimes unfair and unethical, to colored people and it may continue that way for a long time.

Atticus says this so that some people may form a new opinion if Tom is guilty or not guilty. After Atticus’s closing argument prior to the verdict, Jem was very confident based upon the evidence presented that Tom would be not guilty, after the trial Jem was very upset and crying about the harsh reality of the case case, while he is talking to Atticus about this he says, “It ain’t right, Atticus”(Lee 242). Jem is finally maturing and realizing the harsh reality of Maycomb and the racism and prejudice in people's minds throughout their society. Jem learns that just because of the way you were born you are not given the same opportunities that others have just because of one factor, the color of your skin, not the way you act, or your reputation, but the color of your skin, something so little, but has such a massive impact on everyday life.

When Atticus was defending Tom, he knew they had lost the court case, but he still made a final argument and tried to show the jury how unfair the court case was and that it was only because of prejudice: "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. " At that time, all people in court are supposed to have a fair trial, no matter their race or where they come from. But people do not do that; they carry their hatred and bitterness into the court, and the court is not ruled fairly. Tom was only convicted because of his color and other people’s hatred and bitterness, not because of the truth. Also, a little before the final argument, Jem was convinced they had won because it was shown that it was physically impossible for Tom to rape Mayella because his left arm was crippled and useless.

He has to face the challenge of changing the racist mindset of the jury to rule in favor of his wrongly accused client, of raping a white woman. During Atticus’s closing statement, he defends his client and how the jury was unfair during his trial. His speech includes, “I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up” (234) Even though he knows the verdict won’t be in his favor he continues to defend his client who was wrongly accused.

This plays out in the book when Jem becomes very upset after the trial. Also, you can see this pearl of wisdom if you look at the judge. The judge, Jon Taylor, hires Atticus to defend Tom because he knows Atticus is a fair and just man. The judge

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the verdict is unfair because the circumstances of the trial inherently incriminate Tom Robinson. During the portion of this quote, Atticus Finch is giving his closing statement to the jury, pleading with them to spare Tom’s life. The evidence outlines the fundamental flaw that bedevils the trial — there is little evidence to support either side. Atticus says, “‘To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.

This statement is referring to the racial injustice and discrimination that existed in the South during the 1930s. At that time, the word of a black man was often disregarded and not given the same weight as that of a white person, particularly a white woman. Despite knowing the odds were against him, Atticus chose to defend Tom Robinson anyway, as a matter of principle, and to show his children that doing the right thing is more important than winning or losing. This is an important lesson because it teaches children to always do the right thing. Another examples is when Atticus advises Jem on how to respond to Mrs. DuBose's insulting remarks.

23, P.295) In this quote, Atticus saying that there's just something about race that makes white people crazy. He also acknowledges, in case it wasn't already clear, that law is not pure realm free of the racial prejudices that plague everyday in life, it's subject to the same problems as society at large. Usually Atticus is a voice of hope for change the idea of racism, but here he flatly says that racism is a "fact of life," suggesting that losing Tom's case severely reduced his hopefulness concerning human nature, or else that, having sat through the

“Simply because we were licked for a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Chapter 9, page 101). With this quote, Atticus is attempting to elicit the idea that white people have a distinct social advantage over black people and that the court is representative of that. By Atticus taking this case it demonstrates his goal of proving the prejudice to be wrong and ending the trial in favor of Tom. Regardless of the outcome, the point and the perspective will be shown to the people of

He managed to make a small step in the right direction of getting the Jury to see Tom as innocent. He did this by giving them enough to think about to keep them out of the court for 4 hours even though they still saw him as guilty. This quote proves innocence is killed because charging Tom with this is going to kill his own innocence as well as many others. Both of these quotes tie together because Atticus is stopping and trying to stop Racism from ruining