"For a number of reasons," said Atticus. "The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." […]
"Atticus, are we going to win it?"
"No, honey."
"Then why-"
"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said (84).
This quote takes place when Scout is not understanding why Atticus is defending a black man. Atticus tries to explain it to her that he couldn't respect himself enough to hold up his head or even tell Scout or Jem not to do something. He knows that he has to try, because it is the right thing to do no matter what anybody says. So when Scout asks him if he is going to win the case, he simply says no, because he knows it is hopeless, yet he has to try. He says we already got licked a hundred years ago, referring to slavery and the racial prejudices that have been going on for a long time. But that doesn't mean that it is right even if it has been going on for a hundred years, and he still needs to try to change it, even if he is ahead of his time and knows it is hopeless. I think this scene describes the hopelessness of the novel; knowing that Atticus is doing the right thing, and people seem blind to that fact. You as a reader know that Atticus is doing what is right and it is frustrating that he has no power to change anything.
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