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Throughout reading chapters ten through fifteen, Atticus can be characterized as skillful and wise. The first adjective I will be describing is skillful. The kids did not know that Atticus is the best checker player in town. Even though playing checkers is not the best skill to have it show his intelligences. Playing checkers means that Atticus has a good strategy to his game. In the book it states, “Well, did you know he’s the best checker-player in this town” (Lee 120). Playing checkers lets people think in a different way. When you play checkers you think about what the other person's next move is and if it is a good move to make. The next reason Atticus could be described as skillful is he used to shoot guns when he was younger. Atticus …show more content…
Jem and Scout have not ever seen their dad with a gun and Jem thinks it is pretty cool. Scout is surprised that her dad just shoot a dog and never knew her dad even touched a gun. Using guns is very skillful especially when you go hunting. In the book it states, “Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time” (Lee 129). Atticus has a great skill even though he doesn't use it to his advantage. The finale, reason why Atticus is skillful is he reads books. During the great depression some adults did not even know how to read. Atticus reads the newspaper everyday and a book. This means that he is very intelligent in english. If you read more your brain gets to learn new words and it expands your vocabulary knowledge. Reading also will help with your writing skill. In the book it states, “He did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the livingroom and read” (Lee 118). Atticus did not do any of the “normal” activities, he just sat at home and read. The next thing Atticus could be characterized as is wise. Atticus got Jem and Scout air rifles for Christmas and does not teach them how to use
Jem and Scouts’ father, Atticus, is very misjudged by their children. They believe that Atticus is a very semantic man that goes to work, comes back, and has no skill whatsoever in sports. Scout criticizes Atticus by saying “Atticus did not… or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone”(118). This demonstrates that Jem and Scout are not satisfied with Atticus’s physical and amusing skills. They thought of him as an old man in his fifties that had no energy left, and had a routine of going to bed and reading in the living room instead of running around. Later, they visit there across the street neighbor, Mrs. Maudie to talk about how boring their Dad is, when Mrs. Maudie says” ‘Well, he can make everybody’s will so airtight can’t anybody meddle with him’… ‘Well, did you know he is the best checker-player in this town? Why down at the Landing when we were coming up, Atticus Finch could beat everybody on both sides of the river”(120). This establishes that they find out that their Dad isn’t so useless anymore. Even though the children find out all these activities he is excellent at, sometimes even the best, they are still not overly impressed. After Calpurnia calls the cops on the dog, Tim Johnson, The sheriff and Atticus arrive at the scene “ ‘Take him, Mr. Finch’. Mr. Tate handed the rifle to Attics; Jem and I nearly fainted…’’d you see him, Scout? ’d you see him just standing there?...’n’ all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an’ it looked like that gun was a part of him’”(126-129).
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. The most important thing Atticus teaches in To Kill a Mockingbird is the message about how to best educate a child. From the beginning of the book, it's plain to see that Atticus has been down on his luck most of his life. "It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyways and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do"(124).
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we are introduced to the character Atticus. He is a hard working single parent of two who is kindhearted and does what he believes is right and treats everyone equally. Being such a hard worker, his mind is often on work, even at home, which means less time spent with his children. While Atticus may make some mistakes as a parent, overall he is an admirable father.
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.
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.
As a father, Atticus Finch tried to make his kids the best they can be. He tried teaching them that just because everyone acts a certain way, doesn’t mean they have to be close-minded and go along with it. Furthermore, he tries teaching them to always place themselves in someone’s position before judging them. Atticus leads them with example in the way he fought for Tom Robinson, tried helping Mayella Ewell deal with her father, and tried protecting Boo Radley from harassment. In conclusion, Harper Lee portrayed a sense of universal understanding in her novel.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, readers can view Atticus as a positive parental figure for a variety of reasons. One piece of evidence that points to this is that Atticus cares about his children. Although Atticus does not show his affection towards his children traditionally or frequently, he shows it in his own ways. Some parents hug and kiss their children, but not Atticus. Atticus’ way of showing affection to Jem is by ruffling his hair. An example of this occurs when Atticus and his children are walking home from the jail house following the mob scene. Scout states that she thought Atticus was going to be irritated at Jem for his lack of compliance. However, Scout states that “as they passed under a streetlight, Atticus reached out and massaged
Lastly, I think that as a father, Atticus is extremely wise. Atticus’s wise parenting ultimately wins his children’s respect and trust, and their devotion to him runs deep. Atticus way of parenting is not typical, such as scolding and punishing. Instead, he parenting style is unique, different from other fathers and he is able to help the children learn from their experiences and thus they progress through levels of morality until they develop the compassionate ability to consider from others’ perspective and views . For example, when scout takes up cussing, Atticus does not deal with the situation directly by reprimanding and chiding her. Instead, he leaves her to cuss, knowing fully that it would just make her swear more. However in time, Scout realises on her own that it is not a right thing to do. I feel what Atticus did was intelligent as Scout may choose to rebel if Atticus interfered too much, and she might even hate him. However by letting her realise her own mistake, she will tend to mature as an teenager and be a better person. Atticus’s lessons are also taught by setting good examples for his children. By acting the same way that he wants his children to act, he is the perfect role model for them. He is wise as he is able to set ideal examples for his children by his actions such as defending his clients and treating others. By using this method of teaching, he is able to quietly and subtly pass on wisdom to his children about life, moral values and other virtues.
The unforgettable, Anne Frank, wrote long ago, “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands” (Goodreads). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel revolves around three children named, Scout, Jem, and Dill. It follows them through their years of growing up and coming to understand the importance of lessons, Atticus, Scout and Jem’s father, advises them. Furthermore, Lee shows often the best lessons are learned outside the classroom.
He sets positive examples for his children by showing them courage and respecting others. In other words, Atticus ' children, Jem and Scout Finch refer to their father as his first name. They do not refer to him as “dad” or “father” or any other name. This is a clever idea because it shows that Atticus wants his children to open up to him and treat him as an equal individual. By calling him “Atticus”, it improves the relationship between him and his children. They open up to Atticus and come to him for advice instead of listening to others. In addition, he educates his children in a manner Maycomb is not familiar with. When Jem was punished to read to Mrs. Dubose for a month, it was also a strategy Atticus used to teach Jem the true definition of courage. At first, Jem thought courage was Atticus holding a gun to shoot the rabid dog, but Mrs. Dubose 's fight with the morphine was an inspiring example of courage. Atticus says, “She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe... son, I told you that if you hadn 't lost your head I 'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her- 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.” (Lee 149). As Atticus ' children grow older, he teaches them about the real world by guiding them with advice. He points out the positive values of a person and tells
At the beginning of the book it becomes clear why Atticus thinks education is so important, as he and Scout read before bed each night. During his closing arguments in Tom Robinson's case Atticus clearly acknowledges the ignorance blinding people's minds and hearts: "the witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the...evil assumption...that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, and assumption one associates with minds of their caliber" (217). Education is the key to unlocking the ignorance that causes such prejudice. Because of Atticus' example Jem begins to this lesson toward the end of the book, when he wonders if family education could be based more on education than on bloodiness.
We learn how important it is to Atticus for his children to be educated. We see how he teaches them to read and write at an early age. “As it is in a black man’s account of slavery, reading and writing are major themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Reading is first introduced with Dill’s announcement that he can read, and Jem’s counter boast that his sister, Scout, has been reading for years” (Telgen 301). Atticus reads to the children from newspapers and magazines as if they are adults who can understand issues at his level. By the time Scout attends her first day of school, she is highly literate, far surpassing the other children in the classroom and frustrating her teacher whose task it is to teach her students according to a predetermined plan. It soon becomes clear why Atticus thinks education is so important. During his closing arguments, Atticus explicitly acknowledges the ignorance blinding people's minds and hearts:
Atticus is a great leader of his family, teaching his children morals and life lessons. He makes them better people by showing them how to deal with the trial and people making fun of them. Atticus teaches Scout how to respect other people. First, Scout learns to respect Atticus, then to respect "Boo" Radley, and finally to respect a whole race of people, negroes. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and thus displays the attributes of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Throughout the trial process, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in and that all human beings, despite their race, deserve respect. "You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote shows that Atticus wants his children to get along with people, and so other people will respect them for whom they are.
Atticus is always guiding Jem and Scout with advice so that they will become more compassionate people. Atticus sets a good example for the children when Mr Ewell confronts him. Even though he is provoked and insulted, Atticus simply has a “peaceful reaction”. This shows the children never to get into fights with people when they are upset about something. Atticus shows children about courage and all the forms it appears in. When Jem is told to read for Ms Dubose and she dies, Atticus explains to Jem about her morphine addiction, and how she died “free”. This shows Jem that courage isn’t always where you expect to find it, and that if you have some compassion, you see people for who they really are. The most important piece of advice he gives his children is that “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This is important for the children to know, because it helps them to be more caring people, and they use this advice throughout the novel.
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.