To Kill the Hedge: Why Defend a Black Man? Why did Atticus defend a black man? What was the point of defending a black man? It doesn't matter whether they are guilty or innocent, you can ceaselessly and effortlessly condemn animals for their color vice. You can also turn a blind eye to the obvious truth. And so did the "people", the white, narrow-minded, bigoted and hypocritical people of Maycomb. The justification why Atticus deviated from the norm and acted differently from most others in his community can be compared to the motif of the central character revolt in the novel A Time To Kill, written by John Grisham. The comparative character, a lawyer named Jake, also endangers not only his life but that of his family by defending a black man. He is forced to take such a risk because he believes he is protecting an innocent man. Even though he's black. Jake would not have been able to live with himself if he had not done his best to clear the name of the accused, Carl Lee Hailey. The lawyer believes it is his obligation to humanity to do so. Likewise, the case accepted by Atticus is something that goes to the essence of a man's consciousness. Atticus is unable to treat the city's losers the way most people treat them. Clearly the people of Maycomb are narrow-minded, bigoted, and hypocritical, while Atticus Finch is not. Nothing can be done to make prejudiced and perverse people hear the truth. This dogmatic attitude is not found exclusively among whites and blacks. The community's unfounded stories about other citizens also demonstrate their disregard for the truth and their prejudiced nature. Arthur Radley, otherwise labeled Boo, has been maliciously maligned in the county for decades. The people who did this don't know Arthur, and why they can make such judgments escapes me. When there was a series of pets being mysteriously slaughtered, the general consensus was that it was done by Boo. Later, when it was discovered that someone else was the culprit, most people were still entrenched in the belief that Boo was to blame. They couldn't believe the truth. And all the unsolved crimes committed in the area were fabricated solely by him. If your garden freezes it is because it has breathed on it and nuts and other fruits, grown on the Radley property, are considered poisonous.