To Kill a Mockingbird
What does Atticus know about his neighbors and the town?
Using the "n"word is quite off-limits for Atticus,and although Scout defends it by saying that all the kids at school say it, Atticus remarks that there will be one less using the word as of right now. Atticus remarks that of course he will defend a Negro, named Tom Robinson, explaining to Scout that if he didn't he wouldn't be able to hold his head up around town, or be able to ask Jem and Scout to do what he tells them.