In this assignment you will be viewing To Kill a Mockingbird and evaluating the character of Atticus Finch as a public speaker (there are many other characters, you may write about also) He is an attorney in Alabama in the early 1930’s, and has been asked to defend an African American who is accused of beating and raping a white woman.
This movie provides many examples of the different element of public speaking. Some of the things you may want to discuss are:
delivery (vocal variety, movement, articulation, eye contact)
ethics
audience (size, preconceived ideas, etc)
persuasion
context (era, physical effects of the setting)
egocentrism & ethnocentrism (in regards to all speakers in the courtroom)
ethos, logos, pathos
logical fallacies
Although we are well into the movie before we actually see Atticus performance in the court, the information will provide a soild context in which the events take place, and should give you an opportunity to consider all the things that play a part in this speakers attempts to exonerate his client.
Your paper should be thoughtful and analytical, address the elements of public speaking.
