John Jay Osborn Jr. and Monroe Freedman deny this, feeling that Atticus does nothing deserving of hero status being that he does not stand up against, and accepts racism. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird , by Harper Lee, Atticus proves to be a hero. While he does not outright denounce racism, he takes crucial steps towards racial tolerance by defending Tom Robinson.
Webster's defines a hero as, “One that shows great courage”. Atticus Finch is without a question a hero. By standing up for Tom Robinson, a case he knows he will lose, he his showing his true colors, a courageous man, undaunted by what others may think or say. Monroe Freedman challenges this, saying, “…A refusal to accept a court's appointment is punishable by imprisonment and for contempt”. This is true. However, Mr. Freedman seems to think that by accepting court appointment, you have to fight and try to represent your client. Not true, especially in the Deep South during the 1930's. All that was required was for you to show up to court. Atticus Finch realizes this but chooses to actually defend Tom Robinson, meaning, seriously fighting to set him free. He also brings up the point that a hero would stand up to all racism, denouncing it, and pushing for change, and not just in the legal system. He is asking Atticus Finch to step up and lead the Civil Rights Movement. But what is defending a black man but a step forward in a racist era? According to Mr. Freedman, this is not enough.
However, this is not Atticus Finch's character. He will not be the one to take center stage and move mountains. He has his moral compass fine-tuned, and he will stand up for what he thinks is right. He knows he should defend Tom and he does, showing his courage and integrity, but changing the way people think, is not the job for one person. One may ask about Martin Luther King Jr., but he himself alone did not cause social and political reform. Where would he be without his supporters? Again, with Rosa Parks, refusing her seat to a white man did not in it self start the Civil Rights Movement, but was again a step in the right direction.
That is exactly as Atticus has done by staying true to himself. This makes him a hero. He has his niche, a place where he feels strongly about and will change. Think of the people that the public call heroes today, police officers and firefighters to name a few. However, if one saw someone being assaulted, would that person call a firefighter? No, that is not their role or niche. According to Mr. Freedman however, one would call the firefighter because it seems in his ideas and writings, for one to be a hero, one must perform heroic acts across the social spectrum. It is obvious that this is not the case and that Atticus is a hero. Therefore, although Atticus Finch only defends Tom Robinson, and not revolutionizes social thinking, he should still be considered a hero.
Mr. Osborn also believes that Atticus is not a hero. He thinks that Atticus cannot see past his law books, and that if he did, some sort of demon would be released into the town. Mr. Osborn believes that Atticus, to be a real hero, “Would have gone to the Federal Court seeking a writ of mandamus and asked Federal Marshals be called”. What Mr. Osborn fails to realize is that during the 1930's most of the country was in a depression. The Federal Government could not afford to send Marshals down to a small town in the Deep South for a rape charge. Especially white accusing black, the government simply would not grant a writ of mandamus to call Marshals in. Besides that, Atticus realizes that this man is going to be convicted. Just as the Scottsboro boys appealed three times, had the best New York attorney on their case, and still lost, Atticus realizes that this man will be convicted regardless of type of court it is. You cannot invest so much money in a lost cause especially in the case of court appointees. They are not paid enough for an appeal to the federal court. In the limited resources he has, Atticus makes a brave attempt to set Tom free. Therefore, for giving it all he had, despite the circumstances surrounding, Atticus is a hero.
Atticus takes crucial steps towards racial tolerance by defending Tom Robinson even though he does not outright denounce racism. For this reason, he is a hero. He could not get federal marshals in and he cannot just stand up and say, “Racism is wrong”, but he can, and did make crucial steps to correct society's wrongs. Therefore, contrary to Mr. Freedman and Mr. Osborn, Atticus Finch is an honorable man whom can still be looked up to as a role model for young attorneys
