DEPRESSION-YOU ARE NOT ALONE

When asked what fictional character I relate to, who has influenced and inspired me, I immediately turn to Atticus Finch from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Finch was a prominent citizen and lawyer in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. In a time of racism, Atticus took it upon himself to represent a black man, Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman, in court when no one else would. Throughout the book, Finch received threats and mocks from his so-called friends because of his “color-blind” eye. Although Robinson was declared guilty of rape at the end of the novel, Atticus stuck by his side the entire time, fighting for what he knew and believed was right.

Finch a traitor in many people’s eyes and his decision to stand for the oppressed is met by opposition and ridicule. Black men are discriminated against and as a minority people, they are considered to be culpable until they are proven guiltless. In the town ruled and with racism and social injustice, it is utterly unbelievable that Finch a white prominent citizen would defend a black man accused by Bob Ewell, a fellow white man. Finch holds he must defend Robinson and any other person assigned to him, black or white, colored or not colored. It is an attribute that inspires me every day to support and fight for the rights of others.

Robinson faces the threat of being lynched and killed by an aggressive mob that believes this to be the fastest way to execute justice. Finch’s commitment to his client makes him to intervene. Finch risks his life to protect his client from the mob. The lynching is meant to rid the town of any controversies that might have resulted from the court’s ruling and maintain racial control by inflicting fear. The mob and Bob Ewell do not want the case to go to trial, not only because it would act as a spark that would spread the black revolution but because they do not have sufficient evidence to convict Robinson. Little surprise the mob wants to lynch Robinson, lynching was used by the British to execute both formal and unwritten rules meant to assert white domination.

I believe Atticus Finch personifies me since he is determined and fights for what he believes is right, which is what I purpose to do every day. I am a member of “Next Generations,” an organization that focuses on fighting for the rights of Holocaust survivors. These elders have been through social injustices and have lived to tell the tale. They have been forced to live in the ghettos in addition to facing tyranny and genocides. Essentially, the survivors were displaced from their homeland and have been living in abject poverty after the Holocaust. I feel that it is my obligation as a great-granddaughter of a survivor to keep their memory and of others alive. I speak at different schools and educate students on the Holocaust from a teenager’s perspective. My dedication and willingness to fight for Holocaust education during the rise of anti-semitism in this country is similar to Finch’s commitment to Robinson despite the societal backlash that may occur by those who are narrow-minded.