Atticus As A Father Analysis

As the famous American author, Nerburn says,“It is much easier to become a father than to be one” He writes about how hard it is to be an eligible father. It is a general phenomenon that many kids do not like their fathers because their fathers are strict or they are tot busy too play with kids. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout live with their father, Atticus, who is a lawyer. However, in the beginning of the novel, Scout and Jem don’t value Atticus as a father with full diligence because he is older than most of other students’ fathers and he is not able to play any sports. Due to the mad dog incident, Atticus’ teachings, and the case of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout come to understand, respect, and finally

At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout are always disappointed at Atticus because he is nearly fifty and he wears a pairs of glasses which make him look different with other students’ parents who can play all kinds of exercises with their kids. One day, Jem and Calpurnia, who is the housekeeper of Atticus’s family, find a mad dog existing in the town. Neighbors will get hurt unless somebody is willing to take the risk and kill the mad dog. Under this emergency situation, Atticus steps in and kills the mad dog with a gun in only one shot. His spectacular action amazes the neighbors and also surprises Jem and Scout. Jem learns that Atticus’s nickname was Ol’ One-Shot (Lee 112) when he was a boy, but Atticus has never mentioned about it. As Miss Maudie said “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents” (Lee 112). After the event and Miss Maudie’s words, Jem grows up a little bit and Atticus’s image has been changed in his mind. Jem shows his growth to Scout by his words “Naw, Scout, it’s something you wouldn’t understand. Atticus is real old, but I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do anything—I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do a blessed thing.”（113 Lee). In Jem’s mind, Atticus is not a weak and fusty father any more, at least he is a good shooter, this is the point that can make Jem be proud of his father. Also, in kids’ world, an outstanding skill is able

Tom Robinson is a virtuous and warm-hearted African American who works very hard to raise his own wife and kids everyday. He is reported that he hurts a white woman and takes advantage on her.Atticus was appointed by the court to defend Tom.Because of that, a lot of kids laugh at Scout and Jem so Jem and Scout do not really understand Atticus about why he wants to do this. As they are confused about their father’s choice, Atticus told Scout that this case is the one that he had to argue with, not because of the appointment, instead, he wanted to preserve the justice and truth. As the case going on, Jem and Scout are very excited and they all supply their father. When the judge finished and Scout lost the case, and Jem feels really upset too. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.” (243 Lee)As a kid, Jem not only thinks about his own thing, he also cares about Atticus’ case, he feels down when Atticus fail, this is the most obvious evidence of Jem’s growth and his admiration on