Atticus Finch is a lawyer who believes in justice and fair representation. This is what leads him to defend Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson has been falsely accused of a crime. However, he is African American and Maycomb is a very prejudiced town, which makes it difficult for him to get a fair trial.
The Finch family is also affected by the fact that Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson. We learn that the children make comments in school about the family. We also learn that racist men threaten both Atticus and his family. There are all negative consequences that the family have to deal with because of the prejudice that exists in the town.