Atticus shows physical courage when he stands guard outside of the jail with Tom. A few days before the trial …show more content…
Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb County. Judge Taylor appointed Atticus to defend Tom Robinson in the trial where Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He knew Atticus would defend Tom to the best of his abilities. There was a lot of racial stigma surrounding the case, but Atticus knew it would go against his morals if he did not defend Tom. Some were confused to as why Atticus would even bother when they knew Tom was most likely going to lose. Atticus explained that, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”(Lee 101). Atticus showed courage by upholding his morals. He believed everyone was equal and deserved a fair chance, especially in the court systems. When Judge Taylor appointed him Atticus knew it was up to him to defend Tom because no one else would defend this case to the best of their ability. There was not a good chance of winning the case, but he knew giving Tom a fair chance was more important than winning. He also knew the town would have their own opinions on this matter because this time period was full of racism and inequality, but his courage to defend his morals outweighed what people thought of …show more content…
Amidst these incidents, Atticus did not stray away from his morals, he continued to do what he thought of as right. He defended Tom when no one else would and when people aimed to hurt him. He also bearded the lashes of an ignorant racist to protect his children. Without Atticus's acts of courage, racism would have only progressed in the small town of