Atticus Finch is the voice of reason in the town of Maycomb and in the novel. He is a man that goes beyond the word tolerance; tolerance is merely to put up with something. Atticus looks at everyone and tries to understand who they are and where they are coming from. And he quietly and subtly passes on wisdom to his children about terrible subjects like racism.
Atticus is also a reliable man. People say that he is the same in the courtroom as he is on the streets. The code of conduct that he maintains for himself remains the same no matter what situation he is placed in. That is why he feels he is responsible to take Tom Robinson's case and defend him to the best of his abilities. If he didn't, he would see himself as a hypocrite.
…