In Chapter 12, Calpurnia takes the children to First Purchase African M.E. for Sunday service. Scout is describing the church and mentions that each seat had a cheap cardboard fan with a garish image of the Garden of Gethsemane on it. Located in the New Testament, is the account of when Jesus and his disciples prayed and slept in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. Harper Lee's Biblical allusion reflects Atticus' impending task to defend Tom Robinson in front of a prejudiced community. Atticus' personal sacrifice to defend Tom Robinson and suffer immense scrutiny from his community correlates to Jesus' personal sacrifice to die on the cross for the sins of humanity. In the Biblical account of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is overwhelmed with sorrow and prays that he would not be required to die on the cross. Similar to the anguish Jesus felt, Atticus knows that Tom's case is unwinnable, and he will be viewed with contempt throughout Maycomb. Despite the negative response from his community and the difficult task ahead of him, Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson because he is a morally upright individual.
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