“I am only one; but they are anyway. I can't do everything, but I can still do something; I won't refuse to do something I can do." This quote by Edward Everett Hale means that if someone wants to change the world, even if it's a small thing, they have the power to do so. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the 1930s. There were different perspectives then. African Americans did not have the same rights as whites. This story is based on a society where African Americans were not given the same opportunities as whites and had lower status. A man named Atticus Finch changes the view towards African Americans. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper shows that one person can change society, as demonstrated by Atticus in the Tom Robinson trial and the decisions he makes at home. Atticus changes society's view by defending a black man named Tom Robinson. By defending Tom, Atticus is defending black people. Atticus couldn't decide whether or not to take this case because "If [he] hadn't done it then... [He] wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what to do, not even ...