In Chapter 9, Scout is ready to fight Cecil Jacobs because he announced to the playground the day before that "Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers" (Lee 48). Scout mentions that Atticus had warned her several times about fighting and told her that she was too old for such childish things. That night, Scout has a discussion about why Atticus chooses to defend Negroes. Atticus essentially tells Scout that the main reason he is defending Tom Robinson is because he has a moral obligation to do the right thing and he refuses to neglect his conscience. Atticus then tells Scout to simply hold her head high and keep her fists down. Atticus says, "No matter what anybody says to you, don't let 'em get your goat" (Lee 48). He then challenges Scout to fight with her head and not her fists.
The next day on the playground, Cecil Jacobs tells Scout that his family said that Atticus was a disgrace and that his client ought to hang from a water tank. Scout remembers what Atticus said and walks away. She mentions that if she had fought Cecil Jacobs, she would have let Atticus down. She also says that Atticus rarely asked her and Jem to do something for him, and she could take being called a coward for Atticus.
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