“The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town.” That’s what Harper Lee said about the book that she wrote called To Kill A Mockingbird. The novel is about a small town called Maycomb that faces many diversity’s. Maycomb is going through the Great Depression. The main family in the book is the Finch’s, which includes Scout, Jem, and their dad Atticus. Atticus is a prominent lawyer and is reasonably well off in comparison to the rest of society. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores the concept of moral courage and Atticus is the perfect model of a human being. Christ-like man of courage, integrity, and compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus shows that he’s a man of courage. In the middle of the book Atticus confronts his brother, Jack, about defending Tom Robinson and says “do you think I could face my children otherwise? You know what’s going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without …show more content…
One way Atticus shows he’s compassionate is when the men come to his house to check on his safety about his client. The men say “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till the truth’s told.” After that Atticus responds with “And you know what the truth is.”(195) Atticus tells them he will not back down. He says even in hard times people should accept that he needs work. He is also determined to get his client day in court, because he is innocent. Another way Atticus shows compassion is when he tells Walter Cunningham Sr. One of Atticus poorest clients, “Let that be the last of your worries, Walter.” (27) Atticus says this when Walter Cunningham Sr. doesn’t know how he is going to pay back Atticus for his work. This shows that compassion is a parts of Atticus character because he understands the Cunningham’s financial troubles. All these quotes show how Atticus is a man of
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
Atticus Finch’s unique, courageous personality and contrarian mindset are proven through his unconventional actions throughout the novel. His stoic nature correlates with his extreme courage, a moral facet of his multi-layered personality that he highlights with various acts of nobility that many in Maycomb do not expect and often despise, but he continues on regardless. Early on, Atticus shows an aspect of his moral courage when he consoles Scout on the topic of getting bullied about his decision to defend Tom Robinson. In this specific instance, Atticus explains to Scout that, “no matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). Letting insults and rude remarks fly over
Atticus is non judgmental; he treats blacks and everyone equally. He puts himself in someone else’s shoes and respects their thoughts and opinions. He is a very responsible father, while managing his lawyer cases he still made time to teach his children Jem and Scout the lessons they need to become honest and dignified people later in life. Atticus demonstrates responsibility when he takes time to explain to Scout “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view” (39).
To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudiced society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, it uses characterization to help show a theme of loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the story is told by a young girl called Jean-Louise Finch but also known as Scout aged five at the start of the book almost turning six who in the book is quite unique as she could read at the age of six and understand her fathers profession as a lawyer. The story is about Scout growing up in the southern state of Alabama in a small town called Maycomb with her brother Jem and her father called Atticus who is the lawyer. The main theme of the book is about Atticus defending a black man called Tom Robinson and he is accused of raping a white girl called Mayella Ewell and how it affects her, in the book she learns about racism and prejudice and the struggle of black men in life and she also learns about the ways of life and family traditions. The book is set in the late 1930’s so racial discrimination is at its peak in the southern states of America.
The way in which humans come to be understanding, compassionate individuals is a process demonstrated constantly throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, a famous novel written by Harper Lee, taking place in the 1930’s during the Great Depression in Maycomb County, Alabama. The story is told from the young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch’s perspective, and tracks the development of her and her older brother Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch, from innocent to understanding. The negative influences which Jem and Scout experience, including the racially charged case of Tom Robinson, lead the children to have a new, more experienced perspective on human nature. People like Atticus Finch, Jem and Scout’s father, help the children to make sense of this part of human
The people of the county would scold Atticus for trying to raise his children alone, and judge him for defending an African American man named Tom Robinson. In the 1930s and decades after, people were judged by the color of their skin, and not by the content of their character. Atticus resisted this when reasoning with his daughter on treated everyone equally. “You think about how much Cal does for you, and you mind her, you hear” (Lee 25)? Even in a society where Africans were treated with prejudice, Atticus speaks about Calpurnia as if there was not even a little difference between them. Though it may have been easier to tell Scout to treat Cal poorly, Atticus wanted to instill values in Scout that were morally correct. Atticus displays courage by treating people equally no matter what color skin they have. In addition, Atticus displays a large amount of courage when he chooses not to respond to Bob Ewells’ threats. In result of defending a black man, Mr. Ewell spit in Atticus’ face and threatened him and his family. “Miss Stephanie said Atticus didn’t bat an eye…” (Lee 217). Instead of reacting harshly to Bob’s actions, Atticus does not show that he is disturbed. He uses moral courage to be the bigger person, and be peaceful despite his circumstances. Just by simply not fighting back takes a large amount of courage, and by remaining silent, he is standing up for his beliefs. Moreover, as mentioned before,
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in the 1930s in a small Alabama county called Maycomb. The novel is about the Finch family of three. Atticus, the father, Scout the older brother and Scout the younger sister, who acts like a tomboy. Scout may be a lady, but does not like to act like one, she likes to play and get dirty with her brother. Being young, both children learn lessons throughout the novel by many different residents, such as, Calpurnia, the maid, Miss Maudie, the neighbor, and their father, Atticus. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird various citizens in the town of Maycomb play an important role in the lives of Jem and Scout Finch
Francis declares that Atticus’s actions in raising his children, Jem and Scout, and defending Tom Robinson are not acceptable and will ruin their family name. He hears this from Atticus’s own mother who is not very keen on him defending Tom. With Atticus’s actions that they do not see as good, his family believes that they will not ever be able to live in Maycomb. Atticus knows that what he is involving himself in will not be easy for him and more importantly, his kids, he hopes that this complicated case will not come to influence his children in negative ways: “What bothers me is that she and Jem will have to absorb some ugly things pretty soon…I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all,
Throughout the novel, Atticus displays empathy by trying to understand other people’s perspectives and what their conditions are. Mr. Cunningham, father of Walter Cunningham, is a poor farmer who was a client of Atticus. Because of the Cunningham’s financial state he was unable to pay Atticus for his services, “Mr. Finch, I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to pay you” (Lee 22). To which Atticus replied, “Let that be the least of your worries, Walter” (Lee 23). Atticus never
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a remarkable novel following the childhood of Jem and Scout, the son and daughter of Atticus Finch. Living in a small and drama filled town of Maycomb County they encounter a great deal of people who do not stand by their word. Hypocrisy occurs throughout this novel first by a man named Dolphus Raymond, then by two women Mrs. Merriweather and Miss Gates.
The character of compassion describes Atticus more than anybody else. His affection and tenderness towards his children shows through his endless devotion and concern for their well being. He consistently treats anyone and everyone with kindness and understanding. An example of such occurred during the conflicts between Atticus's son Jem and Mrs. Dubose. "Jem, she's old and ill. You can't hold her responsible for what she says and does. Of course, I'd rather she'd have said it to me than to either of you, but we can't always have our 'druthers." This demonstrates Atticus's ability to sympathize and understand others even when they have offended and disrespected him and his family.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a book written by Harper Lee, is a tale about Atticus Finch, a lawyer and father of two children, who is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape. During the events of the book his children, Jem and Scout, are taught virtues from Atticus. He taught them that one should be kind to your enemies by being sympathetic to Mrs. Dubose, a wicked old lady. He teaches them that one should always defend what is right by defending Tom Robinson, and that you should defend others from persecution by helping prevent Boo Radley from being brought to court. Effectively, he taught these valiant virtues by living them and maintaining them amongst persecution. Atticus confidently follows God even though he suffered for it.
He demonstrates this when he showed Jem and Scout to be overcome; for example, when he advised Scout to quit battling the general population that deride her Scout must be overcome enough to disregard the cruel comments and put herself above them. One individual that Atticus respected for having genuine valor is Mrs. Dubose. At the point when Jem demolished her camellias since she verbally hurt him, he made Jem go and perused to her. He did this since it was a discipline as well as on the grounds that he needed Jem to gain from her. At the point when Atticus stated, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand." This demonstrated the amount Atticus regarded Mrs. Dubose for attempting to conquer her fixation. He additionally called her "the bravest person I ever knew". Atticus needed Jem and Scout to realize that he was not fearless for having the capacity to shoot an insane canine dead with one shot; yet he is valiant for protecting Tom Robinson despite the fact that he knew he had lost before he began. He shows them that being fearless is supporting what you believe is correct regardless of what others