Is Atticus the Perfect Hero in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’?
Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is a revolutionary classic that takes the reader through the life of a young girl named Scout Finch, her brother Jem, and her father Atticus. During the novel Atticus, a lawyer, is given the case of a black man against a white woman and her father. Because of this, Atticus has to make multiple bold decisions that not only affect himself, but those around him. The decisions he makes and how they play out all lead us to the same question: Is Atticus really the perfect hero?
Anyone who reads the novel can tell that Atticus Finch has many attributes that make a perfect hero, but he, like any other mortal, has his flaws. P: Atticus is an incredibly intelligent man. E: We can see this clearly when the novel states “My father, Atticus Finch, went to Montgomery to read law,” A: Atticus is smart, and he wants to use that. He had the opportunity to work on his family’s farm but instead chose to pursue a career in law. He chooses to use his brains in his work instead of his hands.
P: Despite all his better characteristics, Atticus is a rather lonely man. E: We learn early on from Scout that “ … mother died when I was two, so I never
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I think that every time Atticus brings forward his heroic characteristics he contradicts them with his negatives: he is an intelligent man yet terribly lonesome; he does everything he could to win the case but somehow he still loses; he cares about his children tremendously however he is not there for them in their time of need. After all was it not Boo Radley who rescued the children, not Atticus? Finch is a honorable man with a lot on his shoulders who tries his best. But sometimes that is just not good enough. If Boo Radley was able to come out of his house to save a couple of innocent children, then Atticus was more than capable of doing so as
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.
Bob Riley once said “Hard times don't create heroes, it is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” Author Lee shows the thoughts and feelings of each character carefully. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Atticus Finch represents Lee’s idea of social justice by demonstrating patience, wisdom and sympathy.
Overall Atticus was a hero in a sense of the word. It is proved he acted in such a manner that it could be said his character was built of that definition. Currently more people like him are needed in our world. If more people saw things from the point of view of Atticus the violence occurring because of race would end and people would just see people based on who they were and not what skin
In addition to being a lawyer, Atticus enjoys being a father to Jem and Scout. When Jem and Scout found out that their father would be defending a black person, they knew immediately that there would be much controversy, humiliation from the people of Maycomb and great difficulty keeping Tom alive for the trial. It was not long when Atticus had to leave the house very late to go to jail, where Tom was kept because many white people wanted to kill him. Worrying about their father, Jem and Scout sneak out of the house to find him. A self-appointed lynch mob has gathered on the jail to take justice into their own hands. Scout decides to talk to Walter Cunningham, one of the members of the mob. She talks about how her father Atticus thought that "entailments are bad "(154 ) " and that his boy Walter is a real nice boy and tell him I said hey"(154). Upon hearing this, the mob realized that Atticus cannot be all bad if he has such a nice daughter as Scout. Atticus, with some unexpected help from his children, faces down the mob and cause them to break up the potential lynching of the man behind bars. Having gone to a black church earlier, the children found out that Tom is actually a kind person, church-going and a good husband and father to his children.
Our hero in To Kill A Mockingbird is Atticus Finch. In this story Atticus finch is a lawyer whose morality and reason makes him the hero of the story. For example in this quote “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. It's when you
The first reason why Atticus is a great character is because he has both strengths and flaws. After the trial, Miss Stephanie tells the children that “Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (217). Later on, Atticus states to the family, “We don’t have anything to fear from Bob Ewell, he got
Atticus Finch shows, in many ways, the true definition of a hero, but no situation was more important than the Tom Robinson trial. In Maycomb, the thought of taking a negro’s word instead of a white man’s was ridiculous to the citizens, especially over a matter as serious as a black man raping a white woman. Regardless of this information, Atticus still takes on Tom Robinson’s case and tries to make as big of a difference as possible. When Scout asks him if he thinks that he will win the case, Atticus subtly replies “No, honey” (76). Atticus goes on to explain, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win” (76). Basically, Atticus believes that just because it is unlikely that he will win, it does not mean that he should just give up without trying. Throughout all the discrimination, Atticus remains tough and tries to achieve his goal, no matter how hard it is. This was an example of moral courage. Even Scout knows how hard her father is trying by comparing Atticus’ efforts to “watching Atticus walk down the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but...
Atticus Finch is portrayed as an exemplary father that teaches Jem and Scout quality virtues through respect, equality, and empathy. When Jem sabotages Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bushes, he is punished to read to her everyday after-school for a month. Shortly after Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus reveals the real meaning why they are reading to her everyday. The reason is so that she can quit her addiction of morphine and “die-free”. Through this situation, Atticus teaches his children without knowing who or what they are dealing with, they still need to deal with them with respect. Another incident where Atticus steps in as a role model, is when Scout is worried because Miss Caroline said that she is not allowed to read anymore at home. Instead of disagreeing with Miss Caroline or telling Scout that she has to go to school, Atticus allows Scout to complain and explain first. Later, he makes Scout see things from Miss Caroline’s side, “You never really understand a person...
In Conclusion, Today in our world many people see someone as an admirable leader and heroic figure. Whether it’s a sister, brother, parent, or celebrity, everyone has someone they look up to. Just like the people of Maycomb look up to Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is a good man who displayed so many characteristics and he is definitely the heroic figure of Maycomb. Atticus presented himself as a calm, courageous, and an open-minded person. His great qualities and personality also won him the respect of African Americans. Only someone with such great pride and honor would be able to accomplish that. When Atticus put his reputation at risk, he knew it was troubling but he was not going to be seen as a typical Maycomb person. Therefore, Atticus is a great impact in the novel, To Kill a MockingBird By Harper Lee.
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...
Atticus Finch is a heroic character in To Kill A Mockingbird. A hero is a person who is known for certain achievements and qualities. Atticus is known for many qualities he displayed during the novel, as well as various achievements. This makes him a heroic character. Atticus Finch is a hero because he defended a black man in court, proved his abilities and intelligences, and cared for everybody equally.
Even though the odds go against him, Atticus Finch bravely stands up to his beliefs and morals. Furthermore, he
Atticus was a man of strong morals and conscience and in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, had to overcome the backlash and hate from defending Tom Robinson. With what seemed to be the majority of Maycomb County against him and his own safety at stake, Atticus knew that he couldn’t win the trial. Yet accompanied by his rationality, good ethics and determination he overcomes the trial. It is not the desired ending, but for his efforts in the trial, Atticus gains the respect of the black community and the respect of others in Maycomb by following through and overcoming the challenges that followed the
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch demonstrates himself as an honest lawyer, a loving father, and a symbol of righteousness through his beliefs that he instills in his children. Atticus Finch values empathy, respect, and bravery, and he proves himself as a moral compass by teaching both Jem and Scout these values in the form of life lessons.
Although they are critiqued, some people do whatever they can do to improve our society. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch proves himself to be a hero. This small-town lawyer exhibits bravery, strength, and modesty when faced with objection during Maycomb’s quarrel for justice. Without a doubt, Atticus proves that anybody can stand for what he or she believes is right.