Life is a lesson, to be taught over and over again to billions of people. But for those billions of people, there are only a handful of teachers to guide the masses, to teach the necessary lessons of true courage, to reach to the other side, and to go against the foundry channel that leads us to the fire. Atticus Finch is one of these teachers, one of these great scholars of pedagogy, but he taught not much to the multitude, but only three important lessons to one small backwater town of maybe three or four hundred people.
First of these lessons taught to us by Atticus was that of knowing another person.When Scout had had a bad first day at school, Atticus told her that all she had to do to get along with people was to “consider things
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This lesson was brought about by the accusations brought about by Bob Ewell, the town drunk, against Tom Robinson. The specific incriminating statement was that Tom Robinson, a young black man in the prime of his youth except for a crippled left arm, had raped his “beautiful southern flower” of a daughter, Mayella. It is worth mentioning at this point that the Ewells currently occupied the lowest social standing possible, living in a former negro cabin in the junkyard that seems to have been left for the rats. Nonetheless, a black man was accused of raping a young white girl in the 1930’s. The southern code that ruled the town, but there was a wrench by the name of Atticus Finch that was thrown into the works. Atticus revealed to the jury and audience that not only was Tom innocent of any crime, but that they themselves were the true criminals here, as much so as Bob Ewell the Accuser. That Mayella had committed no crime had not occurred to these people, only that this was a sport to be enjoyed. If it had occurred, they were too closely adhered to their “rigid and time-honored code of society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from [their] midst as unfit to live with” (271-272). Except this had occurred to Atticus, along with the other atrocities committed against her by her father, the one whom she was supposed to
The way and rate that people mature at can be directly attributed to the values and beliefs of the society that surrounds an individual. It is undeniable that society’s perspective on many controversial issues will generally be adopted by the younger generations in a given society. Moreover, the exposure to significant events, coupled with the major influence of family members, can have an enormous impact on how an individual matures. Additionally, family members greatly help each other develop into moral adults by instilling in each other values that will ultimately determine an individual’s character. In Harper Lee’s timeless classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, the constant reiteration of Atticus Finch’s values, in conjunction with the exposure to significant events, assist in Jem and Scout’s maturation into virtuous adolescents.
When people think about heros it is a person in a cape flying into burning buildings to save people or fighting a villain to save the world. According to Oxford Dictionary a hero is a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. This shows how just normal people can be qualified as heros. A book that exemplifies this is To Kill A Mockingbird because it is filled with people that went out of their way to help others or the society as a whole. A person who did this in particular was Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch was a hero because he fell under the definition and was admired for his courage, achievements, and noble qualities.
1. Why did Harper Lee's perspective on Atticus Finch change? How does this relate to To Kill A Mockingbird?
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
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
The Importance of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird The core character of a novel is responsible for maintaining the stability of society within the novel, exhibiting qualities of a true hero, and constantly emphasizing the novel’s central themes. In the classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch serves as the core of the novel by displaying a character of stability, humility, and high moral standards. Atticus Finch is a character of stability in an unstable society.
I’m dying and I know it. I also know there ain’t nothing I can do about it. That’s why I have this morphine. Keeps me from feeling the death coming for me. Knowing it’s coming and not having control over makes me hate everything. And those wild kids Jeremy and Scout always running around don’t help any. Scout don’t even act like a lady. She runs around like one of the boys. I hate it all. Then one day, that father of theirs, Atticus, changed things for me.
Atticus is a good father. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus tries to be a good father as much as possible to Scout and Jem. Atticus finch is as good of a father as he is a lawyer. He is a loving and caring father and teaches Scout and Jem the difference between right and wrong as well as equality for all.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the ideals upheld in southern culture result in the senseless killing of several people, but also give refuge to teachings of how to become a better human being. To Kill a Mockingbird consists of many life lessons taught to Jem and Scout, the main characters, by their father Atticus while he defends a negro in court, which is greatly frowned upon by his peers in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. Lee shows often the best lessons are learned outside the classroom.
Even though the odds go against him, Atticus Finch bravely stands up to his beliefs and morals. Furthermore, he
While watching Atticus during the trial, Scout learned a lot about her father. She learned that he was more than just an ordinary man to the Negroes. He was defending Tom Robinson, which meant a lot to them, because not many white people in the county would do a thing like that. Very few, if any, white men would defend a black man in a trial in a segregated county during the 1930’s. Because of what Atticus did more people, both white and black, gained respect for him. Scout saw that to the neighborhood people, Atticus was a very wise man, and a very good man, also. While Scout was watching from he balcony, she saw her father do something she had never seen. He told Bob Ewell to write his name on a sheet of paper. Scout saw that Bob was left handed, so he couldn’t have beaten up Mayella, because her black eye was on the right side of her face.
Atticus Finch is a very essential character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. He is not only the father on Jem and Scout, but he is also defending Tom Robinson. Along with all of the obstacles and challenges that Atticus faces he is still an exceptional role model for the children. He also overcomes the diversity of Negroes and whites that is displayed during his time by standing up and fighting for Tom Robinson and his triumph in court against Bob Ewell. Lee presents Atticus Finch as understanding of Tom Robinson, caring with the children, and calm throughout the Tom Robinson trial.
Harper Lee teaches life lessons in the novel by different characters’ opinions on racism. Many of these lessons are brought on by Atticus Finch.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch’s parenting skills were often questioned throughout the novel. Although there were people that didn’t believe he was a good father, I think that he was. There are many different reasons provided throughout the novel that prove he is a good father. Atticus may let his children get away with a little more than the average parent would, but he has a good head on his shoulders. He is open to giving his kids more freedoms and there’s nothing wrong with that. Atticus approaches life with a devotion to fairness and exposes his children, Jem and Scout, to real life. Overall, he makes a pretty good father.
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird once stated that the one thing that does not abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience (Lee 140). To Kill a Mockingbird, set in 1955, is about an old country town called Maycomb. Atticus Finch, a widower with two children, leads a fairly simple life as a lawyer in Alabama. With the help of the family nanny, Calpurnia, Atticus teaches his children many valuable life lessons. Throughout the book, there are many ways that Atticus instills conscience in his children. When the children are playing and poking fun at a man that lives across the street named Boo Radley, Atticus illustrates that they should be more careful and courteous to other people. Another time, he taught his children about courage by having them read to an elderly lady every day after school. Lastly, Atticus instilled conscience in his children by being an excellent example to them. By living and acting the same way that he taught his children to act, Atticus bestowed upon his children the lessons of