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Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout Finch, is a wise man who stands up against racism. When Atticus talks to Jack in the wintertime, he ingeniously lets Scout overhear his conversation. He tells Jack that he hopes that Scout and Jem will come to him for advice, rather than to listen to the racism of Maycomb. Atticus does this to speak to Scout in a third person circumstance. In doing this, he hopes that Scout will take what he says into consideration and act upon it. Atticus tells Uncle Jack that that he does not try to ascertain why people get mad about him defending a “negro”. Since the story takes place in the South in the 1960’s, there is still racism and separation between whites and blacks. Thankfully Atticus treats African-Americans
Atticus Finch is a lawyer and father of two children whose names are Jem and Scout. In the novel, Atticus chooses to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman, even though most of Maycomb is against Tom Robinson due to its racist time setting. He understood that racism was inhumane and innocent people must be defended no matter what race they are. Atticus holds his ground and tries his best to defend Tom Robinson in court, despite the community being against him. Atticus even reminds his children to steadfast during this time of challenge regardless of what other people tell them.
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.
The Finches are a well-known family in Maycomb, as well as very respected. However, they are still hounded by the people of Maycomb, including their own family because of their values, as well as their race. Many times, throughout the novel, Atticus is called a “nigger-lover”. Scout encounters this when her cousin, Francis, says, “I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family” (110). In this quote, Francis is insulting Atticus in front of Scout because of his choice to defend
Firstly, Atticus Finch acts justly, fairly, and always helps others who need it. One of his clients, Mr. Cunningham, pays Atticus in entailment. Scout asks her brother, Jem what the meaning of paying in entailment is, “Jem described it as a condition of having your tail in a crack … one morning Jem and I found a load of stovewood in the back yard … Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him” (Lee 20-21). Atticus believes that no one should get any disadvantages because of one’s lower financial state. He shows justice by allowing Mr. Cunningham to pay him in different sources other than money. Also, Atticus is a very wise man. He talks to his daughter with full empathy and understanding to try and help her. When Scout is complaining about her teacher’s attitude towards her, Atticus gives her great advice that, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his shoes and walk around it” (30). He is teaching Scout to be just. He tells her to look at things from a different perspective and notice the difference from hers to someone else’s. Similarly, Atticus who is a white lawyer takes on a case of a black man, Tom Robinson. Therefore, Scout is made fun of for having her father d...
As Lee Haney has quoted, “Parents must lead by example. Don't use the cliche: do as I say and not as I do. Parents are children's first and most important role models,” it is important for a parent to set healthy and positive examples throughout a child's development stage. In a small town of social division through prejudice and intolerance, Atticus teaches to Jem and Scout his values and beliefs through setting examples. Atticus teaches them that prejudice is bad by going against societal norms, such as taking a black man's case in a dominating “white society” and standing up for the African-American community to defend their equal rights. When Scout questions, "...Why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound like you were runnin' a still," Atticus then responds, "I'm simply defending a Negro...they're clean living folks. Scout, you aren't old enough to understand some things yet...there's been some high talk around to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man." (Lee, 75) This is important in the novel because Atticus demonstrates tolerance to his children when he receives the Robinson's case and decides t...
Growing up in Maycomb, Southern Alabama in the 1930s was not an easy thing. Amid a town of prejudice and racism, stood a lone house where equality and respect for all gleamed like a shining star amid an empty space. The house of Atticus Finch was that shining star. Jean Louise Finch, also known as “Scout”, is given the opportunity of being raised in this house by her father, Atticus. I stole this essay from the net. As she grows, Atticus passes down his values of equality and righteousness to Scout and her brother Jeremy Atticus Finch, also known as “Jem”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, we see Scout learns many lessons about dealing with prejudice by observing the behavior of other characters in the story.
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.
Many of the other townspeople respect how Atticus treated all people and colors the same. Atticus sees people as themselves while society judges them. In the Tom Robinson case he earns some support of the townspeople by his fair ways and taking a stand. Atticus is an honest man who says the truth to anyone if they ask. During the Tom Robinson case, Atticus is trying to get the townspeople to see everyone should be treated equally no matter their color, size, or shape. Both Atticus and his children face challenges after Atticus defends Tom Robinson. For example, Atticus is treated horribly by Bob Ewell. He spits in his face and Atticus still treats him with respect. Jem and Scout face problems by people calling Atticus a “negro lover”. People calling Atticus this strongly upsets Scout. Bob Ewell wants revenge and he threatens his children one Halloween night on the way home from a Halloween pageant. Bob attacks Jem and Scout and gives Jem a broken arm and concussion. Luckily, Boo Radley steps in and stabs Bob Ewell. The officer concluded that Bob Ewell fell on his knife. In the end Atticus is a fair, honest, and kind man. He teaches all of these things to Jem and Scout throughout the entire
Towards the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus decides to represent a colored man by the man of Tom Robinson, who is being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Bob Ewell’s daughter. Atticus believes that Tom is innocent, but he does not think that Tom will be found not guilty because of they way the townsfolk treat colored people. They treat them like dirt; like they are worth nothing. Atticus went ahead and represented Tom despite the fact that he knew the townsfolk would call himself and his children names and treat them disrespectfully. Even Scout’s relative Francis said rude things about them. “‘I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-...’ ‘Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.’” Atticus set a good example for Scout and Jem. He had a difficult decision to make, but he chose what he thought was
Needless to say, because Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, an african american, it gets his family criticized for defending “Negros”. Cecil Jacob tells Scout that her father “defends nigger” (Lee 74). Mr. Bob Ewell calls Atticus a “nigger lover” for defending Tom Robinson. Ever since Atticus took the case for Tom Robinson, The Finches became from being applauded to criticized for defending Robinson, and again applauded for trying his best to defend Tom
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, and a loving father to his two children, Scout and Jem. Throughout the book Atticus is faced with challenges of both his family and his community. Being one of the few who want racial equality in Maycomb, Atticus choose to represent a black man named Tom Robinson in a trial even though he knows that he has a racially biased jury. He also takes pride into teaching his children about racial equality and hopes that they don't become racist like most people of Maycomb. Atticus possesses the qualities of a mentor by helping his children through situations, and by sharing his knowledge.
Atticus's battle for justice causes more problems for Scout. She is continually defending him but the racist remarks do not stop. These remarks just show how cruel children can be to other children. She feels the need to defend her father to Francis, her cousin. He was also taunting her with accusations: "At a safe distance her called, `He's nothin' but a nigger-lover'." The benign force of racism has disrupted their lives, especially Scouts, through the old fashioned and discriminative opinions of the younger residents of Maycomb.
Throughout the novel, Atticus’ assistance to Jem and Scout’s development becomes evident. Atticus takes every opportunity to attempt to teach his children the importance of having an open-mind. For instance, when Scout queries Atticus about Maycomb’s prejudice perspective, he tells her, “You never really understand a person until…you climb in their skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 30) Even during the early stages of the novel, it is apparent that Atticus endeavors to instill the values of empathy and tolerance within Jem and Scout by teaching them how to have multiple perspectives on a situation. In addition, Atticus also attempts to enlighten his children about peaceful resolution in society. For example, when Atticus is chosen to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus tells Scout, you might hear some ugly talk about it at school but…you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.”...
Atticus taught Jem and Scout to respect people, even if they didn’t respect them back, he taught them to understand that you never know what a person is going through to make them how they are so you shouldn’t judge them or hold it against them. Because Atticus taught his children these lessons they were able to recognize the injustices found throughout the town of Maycomb and sometimes when they spoke out, they would make a little change in someone’s ideals (for example, scout talking to Mr. Cunningham at the jail house, or Jem spending time and reading to Mrs. Dubose.) Whereas, the children of Bob Ewell wouldn’t recognize injustices because Bob Ewell didn’t teach them about morality, he only taught them how to be like him—which is a liar, a slacker, and a rude hurtful person. The same goes for the rest of the children; Cecil Jacobs referred to Black people as “niggers” (Lee 99) because that’s how his father and the town taught him to refer to black people as, whereas Atticus tells Scout to never say that word because its “common” (Lee 99) meaning uneducated. Even though Atticus wasn’t confronting everyone with racist views, what he was doing was way more effective than going for to door educating people, he was educating his children, educating the next generation on how to act in the face of racism and he showed them what was right from wrong. By teaching his kids these important lessons he is making sure that they pass their knowledge on to everyone else and that by doing that the next generation won’t be as ignorant as the previous one. Atticus didn’t have an insufficient response to racism; he just understood that he couldn’t change the town, but the children
Scout and Jem have been shown how people’s opinions can affect and alter their lives with new feelings and conditions through experiencing it in real life outside of school. The novel describes an instance where others are bullying the Finch family because Atticus is defending a black man in the trial: Tom Robinson. The verbal assault Scout and Jem receive is harsh for young kids that are not directly involved in it, but Atticus makes sure to support Scout and Jem through the opposition: ““Scout,” said Atticus, “when summer comes you will have to keep your head about far worse things… it’s not fair for you and Jem...Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man” (Lee 105). This quote shows the advice that Atticus gives to Scout to help her. Atticus explains how she should not let other people’s words hurt her and how he needs to help Tom in order to not feel guilty about the whole situation. Scout now knows how to deal with situations where she is facing oppression in the future which is something school does not teach her how to accomplish. This