Iron Man

What is a man without morals?  What is a man who does not care about what is right, but what is popular.  A man with no morals is a poor man indeed.  Atticus Finch is none of these.  In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus is the only man in town he would defend a black man.  He would not let his children fight and he did not care about public opinion.  Atticus does not discriminate on the basis of color and does not use the word Niger.  He is a brave man because he believes in morals in a time when racism rained supreme.  Atticus had the courage to act on his morals in town, in his parenting and in his law practice.  He fends off a town mob even though it is unpopular, he lectures to his children about not being judgmental.

During Tom Robinson's trial Atticus was asked to keep watch.  Everyone in town wanted to kill Tom so this was very dangerous.  Atticus excepted this task because he knew it was wrong to unfairly judge a person.  As expected a mob formed and demanded Tom Robinson be given to them.

He in there, Mr. Finch? a man said

He is, we heard Atticus answer, and he's asleep.  Don't wake him.

...You know what we want, another man said.  Get aside from the door, Mr.     Finch.

You can turn around and go home again, Walter, Atticus said pleasantly.(153-  154).

Atticus stayed and protected a black man when an angry mob came for him.  The towns people could not believe he would do such a thing. Atticus does not care what the towns people thinks right he does what he thinks is right. 

Atticus is an excellent parent.  He raised his children not to be disrespectful and not to be prejudice.  He has enstilled in his children the morals which guide him.  He has taught them not to fight, do not judge a man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes and that racism is an ugly thing.  "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.  Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."(movie).

He was a very opened minded person when it came to parenting.  The one thing that really bothered him though was violence.  "I forbid you to fight."(movie).  Atticus is an excellent parent who's strong sense of morals has rubbed off onto his children.

A black man was on trial, usually no one would defend him.  Atticus would though, not for the attention but because he has a moral obligation to.  He does not care if he has no friends after this he must do the right thing.

If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?

For a number of reasons, said Atticus.  The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold       up my head town, I couldn't represent this country in the legislature, I couldn't       even tell you or Jem to do something again.

You mean if you didn't defend that man, Jem and me wouldn't have to mind you any more?

That's about right.

Atticus can not with a clean conscious decline service to Tom Robinson.  He accepted the case not because he was black but because he was innocent.  Atticus has enough morals to know that Tom deserved a good lawyer whether he was black or not.

Atticus is a very brave man.  He stands up for what he believes in no matter what other people think.  He defends a black man which upsets the rest of town.  He protects Tom Robinson from a town mob that came for him and he taught his children all of the important things that he believed in.  A strong man with strong morals Atticus Finch is truly an Iron Man.