Scout is surrounded by people who think he is doing the wrong thing. However, Atticus tries to give Scout advice on how to deal with it.
"You might hear some ugly talk at school, but do one.
thing for me if you will: just hold .
your head high and keep those fists down".
Atticus feels that if he didn't defend Tom then he would be cowardly and selfish, even if he only wants to protect is children. He knows that the case will bring trouble for his children and himself and he is deeply concerned about the welfare of his children, yet he needs to take the case because he is a man of moral fibre. He needs to gain respect and he does this by the "practice what you preach" method. Scout does face trouble at school but she listens to her father and walks away from a fight. Something that she has never done before. What Atticus has said has obviously had a profound effect on her.
Atticus even has to face the attitudes of his own sister. Aunt Alexandra is a representative of the traditional people of Maycomb. She believes in the traditional role of women and has very deep-rooted racist attitudes that she cannot put aside even for her own brother. These attitudes have been passed down to her own grandson, Francis. This links with the continuing theme of adult influences. Francis in turn tells Scout what he and Aunt Alexandra think of her father defending a black person.
"I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is .
a nigger lover besides, I"m here to tell you.
that it certainly does mortify the rest of the family".
This suggests that Aunt Alexandra thinks that because Atticus is giving a man a good lawyer, he is disgracing the family. Because this is a typical attitude of many people of Maycomb, it is highly apparent that Atticus is going to extreme lengths to do what is right. He is a strong and brave man because he has moral courage, and he is even willing to make things hard for himself in order to defend Tom Robinson.