To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: Free Essay Writer

To Kill a Mockingbird There are defining moments in a society when one individual can shape events for generations to come. For one to change ones surroundings, and make the situation better for others is a great task. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and in today's society men try and make dents in their unjust surroundings, not only in politics but in their homes and personal lives. Men such as Atticus Finch and Jackie Robinson made actions that changed their communities and homes in suddle but memorably ways. Atticus changed the racist society of Maycomb by defending Tom Robinson in his trial. By acting as Tom's defense Atticus, an influential member of his community, is standing up for an oppressed group in his society. In the quote ." . . If I didn't take this case (Scout) then I wouldn't be able to hold my head up, I wouldn't be about to tell anyone what to do, not even you and Jem." the reader can understand that Tom's case is significant to Atticus. He knows that it will shape his community, that a serious change will be a result from the trial, and if he did not accept the trial no one else in Maycomb would help Tom and the rest of the African-Americans in the community. Atticus also changed his community by standing up against the majority and defending a man he knows is innocent. In the quote " Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told . . . and you know what the truth is" Atticus is facing a mob of his peers (Lee 148). The reader can conclude the he is willing to risk his own safety and reputation to bring justice to the trial, no matter who is in the way. Atticus shows great compassion towards the blacks and makes sacrifices by defending Tom, which is another way he helps change his community. His compassion is displayed in the quote " (Courage is) when you know you licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do" (116). Atticus was going to see his case all the way through, if the result was positive or negative, under any circumstance. Atticus' choices at home, in the way he raised his children also change his society. He teaches Jem and Scout valuable lessons that help the next generation to break the cycle of discrimination. For example with the quote " You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view .