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Recommended: Concept of heroes
The All American Hero
When a student is given the task of writing a persuasive essay on heroes people can think of a million real people in this world who they consider to be heroes they can choose from a wealth of individuals like firefighters, doctors, police officers, and soldiers to name a few and still some people will look inside their family structure for the topic of their essay they might choose to write about their grandmother, mother, father or any of their relatives that they feel possess heroic qualities. While these are not bad topics to write a persuasive essay about it becomes infinitely harder when the teacher says that the writers cannot chose a real person but the person that they choose as a topic for their essay must be mythical though they can still choose people like Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk, or Wolverine they can even choose the topic of their essay from their favorite book or movie as most people have done when faced with an essay of this nature. For example lets just say a student choose to write about the main hero Atticus Finch in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. She would say that she believes the author uses the character Atticus Finch to convey the overall message of the book which is there are both evil and good people in the world and the good ones must fight everyday of their lives so that they do not become evil themselves.
In Harper Lee’s novel Atticus Finch is represented as a very courageous person whose courageousness the author of the novel brings to our attention all throughout the book but since our time is limited the student needs only to highlight three situations where they feel Atticus Finch is courageous for example he accepts a criminal case that involves a Black...
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...ll spits in Atticus’ face and threatens to get even with him, he tells everyone that you need to walk around in some else’s shoes to understand their motives.
C. Atticus also shows empathy when he visits the African Americans and later comes home and finds his kitchen littered with food in appreciation for his defense of Tom Robinson and he responds that he is grateful and also asks them not to do it again because times are too hard.
Conclusion: Atticus Finch can be classified as a modern day hero because the evidence of his good nature in trying times is overwhelming and also his overwhelming faith and belief in what he believes is right and just can be an inspiration to anyone no matter what time period that they live in. Harper Lee probably believed that we as people should try to apply all the good qualities that are mentioned in his book to our daily lives.
Lee illustrates Atticus Finch as a very understanding character, especially during the Tom Robinson trial. During the revolting times of the 1930s, it was outlandish for a white man to stand up for a Negro man. For example, when the towns’ people are talking about Atticus, they say, “You know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.” “Yeah, Atticus aims to defend him, that’s what is don’t like about it” (218). When Atticus is delegated to defend Tom Robinson, he not only defends him because he was ordered to. Atticus intentionally helped Tom and wanted Tom to win. Even though the towns’ people did not like Atticus aiming to defend Tom, he understood that it was his duty to help him. Another example is in chapter 22 when Bob Ewell spits on Atticus’s face. Atticus didn’t react intrusive because he knew that it would affect people’s outlook on the trial and on Tom. Atticus stood above the standard and helped a black man, which earned him respect from the Negro people in town. Atticus was very wholehearted when deciding to help Tom Robinson in the trial.
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
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
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
During a time when black people were thought to be lower than white people, Atticus defended a black man in court. He said to his children, "I'm simply defending a Negrohis name's Tom Robinson," (pg. 75). It required a lot of confidence and caring for Atticus to defend Tom, and the black community knew that Tom did not stand a chance without Atticus' help. They respected him and looked to him as a hero. They showed this when they stood up for him in the courtroom. Reverend Sykes said to Scout in the courtroom, "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin," (pg. 211). The entire group of black people who were there stood up for him. Also, the parishioners at Calpurnia's church made Jem and Scout feel welcome when they visited their church. This showed that the black people also respected Atticus' family. If Atticus were just trying his best in a difficult circumstance, then he would not be as respected as he was by the black community. The black people greatly acknowledged the qualities that Atticus displayed by defending Tom and looked to him as a hero because of these qualities.
This novel teaches us lessons as Atticus educates his children about racism, stereotyping and human kindness. Learning lessons is difficult, but especially for the characters in our story today .
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.
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 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...
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.
Lee created a character, Atticus Finch that in To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrates equality, morality, and wisdom. Atticus teaches Jem and Scout differently from the others, he teaches them with respect, equality, and empathy while with good virtues. Atticus is one of the few ones in Maycomb that is committed to racial equality. Atticus is a modest person, he does not like expose his abilities, he rather keep it to himself. In addition, Atticus had a courageous move on defending an African American, Tom Robinson. Not to mention that Atticus an upstanding mortal, he has extraordinary parenting skills.
“Real courage” is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus Finch defines “real courage” and demonstrates it in several ways throughout the novel. At first glance, it may seem as though Atticus Finch’s courageous acts are really acts of cowardice, however as one continues to look into his patient and passive aggressive attitude, it becomes clearer that what he is really displaying would be signs of courage. This shows that Atticus’ actions of displaying courage differently than others are not displayed as one would normally expect, and so he demonstrates it in a more affective manner. Many of the characters in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird display various forms of courage, but Atticus Finch is clearly the most courageous due to the fact that he refuses to give up a fight no matter what the losses or circumstances it may bring to himself or to his family, and because of his determination to fight for what he believes in and to “see it through no matter what” (Lee, 149).
Atticus Finch is the hero in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, but he is not the only hero. Atticus took on a legal case to defend a black man, when everybody said he shouldn’t.
In Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee employs Atticus’s strengths and weaknesses to point to the integrity of his character and roles in the novel. Atticus displays his integrity courageously in his positions as a father, lawyer, and member of the community. Reflecting on the moral of the story, Atticus represents the integrity that leaves an impression on his audience – he ends up teaching his audience. It’s inevitable not to walk away without the new perspective of what it means to judge someone before he remembers, “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” (Lee 39).
Even though the odds go against him, Atticus Finch bravely stands up to his beliefs and morals. Furthermore, he