The state of Alabama in the 1930s was a place filled with racial discrimination and poverty. Atticus Finch was a lawyer of the time. He has two children and a domestic worker. Atticus believes that racial discrimination is wrong and tries to treat every individual equally when it comes to their parenting skills. It also attempts to change the distorted perception of the community. Although he is a positive role model for his children, he also has his strengths and weaknesses. In Maycomb, Atticus Finch is a strong figure who strongly believes in equal rights for all men and women. After the death of his wife, Atticus hired Calpurnia, a black woman, because he needed help with household matters. Her duties included not only cooking and cleaning, but also taking care of Jem and Scout, Atticus's children. From time to time, Scout and Calpurnia would argue and Atticus would side with Calpurnia. Instead of siding with his child, he would demand that Scout do what Calpurnia told her. For example, when Scout started a fight and then argued, Calpurnia would tell her to act like a girl. Atticus would agree with Calpurnia and tell Scout to do whatever Calpurnia gave her as punishment. As for his professional career as a lawyer, Atticus Finch worked on a very particular case. It concerns a black man named Tom Robinson, accused of rape. Even though the chances of winning the case are very slim, he still chooses to defend Tom. He states that one of the many reasons he did this was because "if I didn't do it, I couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this county in the Legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem. do something again."(P.75). By this he meant that it is his duty to protect Tom Robinson in the same way that it is to protect his children. If he did not do so, he could not expect his children to obey his requests. He tries to educate his children to respect all people, even if people are not always friendly. He does so with Mrs..