It is widely believed that Atticus Finch is one of the greatest heroes of modern literature. My opinion varies greatly with this remark. Atticus Finch is not a hero because he only had greater morals than the people of his time, he wanted to be a good role model for his children, and was only doing his job as a lawyer. It was his responsibility to defend Tom Robinson and give him an honest trial. He may have done things out of the way, but that was just to demonstrate his point. Atticus also never did anything for the benefit of other people. He only put himself in danger to prove his point.
One of the leading reasons to think that Atticus Finch is not a hero is because he was merely doing his job. His job as a lawyer was to defend Tom Robinson and to give him a fair trial. He did precisely what he was supposed to do, which is a reason to be called a good person, but not a hero. Atticus did defend Tom, but he did not end up with a fair trial. It was not Atticus' fault that the trial was biased and he tried to give him the fairest trial that he could. He may have opposed the allegations of the trial that seemed hopeless to win, but it was not at all heroic.
What Atticus did for Tom was a reason to be called a good person, not a hero. He protected Tom, even though it was not part of his job. Being a good person is different than being a hero. A hero requires someone to somehow help the community, while being a good person is just someone who helps out another person. Atticus fits more in the good person category.
Atticus Finch was just a man whose ethics were greater than the contemporary normals. In Atticus' time, it was prevalent for whites to convict blacks without them receiving a fair trial. Atticus had higher morals th...
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...egular person to another. There are a few people who are considered heroes to everybody such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Hercules. Atticus Finch is not one of those people.
Atticus, as a lawyer, was only defending Tom Robinson because it was his job. Many lawyers in Atticus' time would not have fought for Tom, but Atticus did. This makes him a good person, not a hero. He was only considered a hero because he had greater ethics than the time he lived in. He did not better the society in any way by protecting Tom at the jail. A hero depends on one's point-of-view, but strictly based on the definition of a hero, he should not be considered one. Now ask yourself, what is a hero?
Works Cited
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201009/what-makes-hero
http://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=9585
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
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
Atticus Finch was considered a hero to many of the African American people in his town, but was a disgrace to many of the fair skinned citizens of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus accepts the offer to be the attorney for Tom Robinson who is an african american Citizen of Maycomb who is tried for raping a young white woman. Many of the people who are rooting for Tom would consider Atticus a hero; of course not the ones that wear a cape and have superpowers but, one that could possibly save a mans life. Of course people in 1930’s south were not as accepting about race as today so people that were white did not think that atticus was a hero but yet a humiliation to his family. Odysseys on the other hand, was looked upon as a hero because of his accomplishments in war. Odysseus is a hero when he uses his intellect to find a way out of the Cyclops’ cave causing him to be a hero ( Homer 224-225). Odysseus’ version of hero is much more different that Atticus because the times are different, and in the time when Odysseus’ was alive he was a clear picture of a hero. He used strategy, he was strong, brave and also the gods favored him. He used his heroic attributes when he found a way out of that cave. Today we may seem some of his actions as unconventional but in Ancient Greece they were key components to being a hero. Atticus and Odysseus have their critics on weather they should be heros
Was Atticus Finch the true hero in the novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’? Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ narrates the journey of Scout Finch. Scout is a young girl and at the start of the novel she is closed minded and very aggressive. Scout is the daughter of Maycomb’s positive but stern lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defends Tom Robinson, an honest and strong African American father and husband who has been wrongly accused of rape. Tom was accused by the young Mayella Ewell who was actually coming onto Mr Robinson. Through the eyes and experiences of Scout, Lee explores the themes of racism, segregation and rape just to name a few. But most notably she invites the reader to consider what it means to be a hero. Being a hero is helping and
To begin with, Atticus Finch is a hero due to his morality. Atticus shows his morals by his reaction to Scout saying the phrase nigger-lover. Scout asks Atticus what a “nigger-lover” is as a result of someone at school calling her father one resulting in a fight with Scout. “You aren’t really
Atticus Finch was a true hero, in my eyes. He had all the essentials to being a hero, such as; respect, equality, and quiet dignity. Sure, Mr. Finch didn’t quite reach his goal of winning the Tom Robinson case, but it was the fact that he attempted it, knowing he would lose. A hero is not someone who achieves something, but is a person that attempts to. The journey to your goal might even be more important than the actual achievement, because on your way to the top, struggles appear and you overcome them by learning new lessons to live by in life. In conclusion, Atticus Finch truly is America’s greatest hero.
The moral of this story is justice, Atticus does the most just thing by standing for Tom Robinson. Everyone else in town just sits and watches his demise but Atticus does what is right. He does what is right as an example for his children and for everyone else, a learning lesson to everyone who wasn’t taught what the right thing is.
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...
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch, a well-respected defense attorney in Macomb County, made a life-altering decision to whole-heartedly defend a benevolent black man, Tom Robinson, who was wrongly accused of rape. Many conflicts arose because of Atticus’s choice to defend a black man against a white man’s word. Despite the towns cowardice and ridicule, Atticus stays true to what is right. “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience” (140). Throughout the story Scout, Atticus’s daughter, transforms from a trouble maker always looking to pick a fight with anyone she disagreed with, into a young lady who was able to follow her father’s example and “consider things from his point of view... you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” (30). Through Atticus’s wise, unchanging character, the theme is revealed. The bond between Atticus and Scout teaches her the one thing that he was trying to do all along: Don’t just fight; stand up and fight for what is right, no matter what the cost.
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 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.
Atticus remained a pillar of righteousness in a town whose moral foundation was weak to say the least. When Atticus took Tom Robinson's case, he didn't treat the case differently from any other he might take on. He knew that there was no way that Tom would be saved from death no matter how well he defended him. From opening to closing statements, Atticus remained vigilant in his defense of Tom.
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.
Not only did Atticus protect Tom in court, but he also kept him from being killed before the case appeared in the courtroom. While awaiting his trial, Tom Robinson lived in the county jail. Atticus feared that Tom would be killed before the trial started if he did not step in to protect him. And he was right. One night Atticus left home late to stand watch at Tom’s cell. Several men accosted Atticus at the jail trying to kill Tom. But Scout, Jem, and Dill (their friend), showed up, and Scout talked to one of the men, Mr. Cunningham, and got them to leave. “‘Entailments are bad,’ I [Scout] was advising him [Mr. Cunningham], when I slowly awoke to the fact that I was addressing the entire aggregation… ‘Well, Atticus, I was just sayin’ to Mr. Cunningham that entailments are bad an’ all that, but you said not to worry, it take a long time sometimes. . . that you all’d ride it out together. . .’ … ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked. Atticus said nothing. I looked around and up at Mr. Cunningham, whose face looked equally impassive. Then he did a peculiar thing. He squatted down and took me by both my shoulders. ‘I’ll tell him [his son, Walter] you said hey, little lady,’ he said. The[n] he straightened up and waved a big paw. ‘Let’s clear out,’ he called, ‘Let’s get going, boys.’”(Lee 174-175). Also, he protected the people of Maycomb from a rabid dog. Tim