Atticus Finch Character From To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

In the final courtroom scene in the movie â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†, Atticus Finch is given the case of a lifetime when he gets the chance to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is being falsely accused of raping a white woman in the 1930’s when inequality and racism was very prevalent during that time in the deep South. The odds he faces are terrible because he is defending an African American which during that time would always be an uphill battle and very few had the audacity to even try. Atticus Finch is delivering a speech trying to encourage and persuade a court who is biased against Robinson to believe that the crime he had been charged with never even took place. Despite the fact that Tom is soon going to be found guilty for a crime he didn’t do, the speech appealed to all of the audience and jury in the courtroom logically, emotionally, and in justice using the appeals of Pathos, Logos, and Ethos (To Kill a Mockingbird). Atticus Finch’s speech displays pathos by provoking the thoughts and emotion of the jury and audience through persuasive and appealing statements. He stated many important points all while his voice was full of trust; trust in the jury to make the right decision, which had the courtroom stirring and this created favorable emotions. Finch creates a feeling of guilt when he states, â€Å"I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt† (To Kill a Mockingbird). Another emotion brought into play by Atticus was empathy when he says, â€Å"There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never looked upon a women without desire† (To Kill a Mockingbird). With the use of empathy he establishes a relationship between Tom and the audience because they were able to put themselves in T om Robinsons’ shoes and feel the same pain. Atticus’s use of the rhetorical appeal pathos was very powerful in creating feelings within the courtroom in an attempt to get the audience to believe in what he is saying and ultimately see past their prejudice ways. This piece of rhetoric also gives a logical appeal through logos which makes the speech a solid logical argument; facts are used in Atticus Finchs’ closing argument to portray a more logical appeal. He starts his speech out by saying there isn’t enough medical evidence to prove that the crime even took place. Finch has a very solid point and statement when he proceeds to say, â€Å"Now there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led, almost exclusively, with his left hand. And Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken â€Å"The Oath† with his only good hand he possesses, his right† (To Kill a Mockingbird). Atticus Finch backs this up in the first sentence of his speech when he says, â€Å"It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses† (To Kill a Mockingbird), stating that this is the only solid evidence that they have in place. Atticus Finch does a good job of presenting a logic al argument while backing up everything he says. Atticus Finch also displays ethos in his speech through his tone and style which also has a major impact on his audience. Atticus Finch having lived in this culture during this time of segregation also gives him a sense of what Tom Robinson and his audience was feeling. By using ethos, he makes a statement that shows how society looks at a white women kissing a colored man, â€Å"Now what did she do? She tempted a Negro. She was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable† (To Kill a Mockingbird). All throughout the speech Atticus sounds very professional and knowledgeable on the information he is talking about, he seems as if he invested much of his time to that one case and is determined to free Tom Robinson. During the court case, Atticus Finch states, â€Å"Now, gentlemen, in this country, the courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal† (To Kill a Mockingbird). Atticus uses this very statement in order to elevate the importance of maintaining equality and unbiased opinions to the jury and show his understanding of the court system. Atticus Finch, by using ethos; has proven himself to his audience. I feel that if I was in the audience during the time that Atticus Finch was giving his closing argument I would be utterly and totally convinced because in the speech he uses the rhetorical appeals pathos, logos, and ethos very well which made his speech fit and connect together. Atticus knew just exactly how to appeal to his audience through logic, emotion, and in justice so that an innocent black man isn’t falsely accused. Works Cited To Kill a Mockingbird. Dir. Robert Mulligan. Perf. Gregory Peck, Mary Bedham, and Phillip Alford. Universal Pictures, 1962. Film.