The impact of family heritage when it comes to individual perception is obvious in the lives of the children in To Kill a Mockingbird as their actions are closely tied to their family's history and reputation. Therefore, examining Atticus Finch's character shows how family history is closely linked to who we are as people. In the book, Atticus's reputation as someone who is a lawyer with morals shapes how others perceive him. For example, you’d think defending Tom Robinson reflects the values taught to him by his family upbringing. This shows that Atticus's actions are influenced not by his family heritage, but by his own experiences and values. The townspeople call him slurs and spit in his face, but because he believes he's standing by the right side of things, he continues …show more content…
It leads to showing us how a family's reputation affects different generations. This is because the community perception of individuals is mainly influenced by their family background, almost always leading to expectations and biases based on who you’re related to. As a result, the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird struggle with the weight of their family heritage, as it shapes not only how they are viewed by others but also how they navigate their own identities. The consequences Atticus Finch's actions have on his children, Scout, and Jem in the book, is something they wish they could but cannot control, it shapes their perceptions of morality and justice. Mrs. Dubose is an embodiment of what people think of Atticus raising her children. She believes they should not call him by his first name, that scout should dress more like a lady, and that they should learn how to speak to their elders. Therefore, after all of Mrs. Dubose taunting Jem decided he would destroy her camellia bush she owned. This resulted in him having to read to her after school for a month for two hours. Mrs. Dubose saw this as an opportunity to teach them her version of morals and keep them off the streets. A
Atticus Finch 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.
Mrs. Dubose is a bitter, old lady that is extremely rude to Scout and Jem, yelling dirty thing at them everytime they pass by her house. Jem hatred for that woman was so short, that one day he grabbed Scout’s baton and lost his temper, Scout explains that “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned…” (137). As a punishment for his sudden outrage, Mrs. Dubose asks that he read for her everyday and they learn things about her along the way. They described that “...From time to time she would open her mouth wide...cords of saliva would collect at her lips...Her mouth seemed to have private existence of its own” (143). Later on in the chapter, Atticus reveals that she was a morphine addict
When Atticus discovered what Jem had done, he was furious and punished him by making him go read to Mrs. Dubose everyday. He knew, though, in his heart that she had it coming. Atticus had told Scout that "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things it's not fair for you and Jem, but
In chapter 11, Mrs. Dubose says some hateful words about Atticus, which leads Jem to smash her flowers. As a punishment, Jem had to read to her every day after school for two hours. A conversation between Atticus and Jem shows how he felt about her in the beginning, “Did she frighten you?” Said Atticus.
Atticus’ statement on prejudice and racism characterises his moral integrity and his empathetic nature. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch is depicted as the complete opposite of what people would perceive to be a stereotypical southern man living in the Deep South during the 1930s. Contrary to the majority of his fellow townspeople of Maycomb, Atticus is a man of great virtue and moral strength. He in not bigoted or racist and is egalitarian in his approach to all people This sort of moral integrity is what he tries to instil in his two young children, Jem and Scout, despite the bigotry and inequality surrounding them. Atticus Finch stands as a moral beacon of the town, a label which causes much friction between himself and other members of the Maycomb community. A clearer idea of Atticus’ principles can be gained by comparing and contrasting them to three other characters in the Novel, Calpurnia, Bob Ewell and Aunt Alexandra.
Harper Lee uses the character of Atticus Finch to teach values and beliefs from seeing things from another point of view, to doing what is right all the time and to being integrative to yourself. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is an old woman who is ill and battles a morphine addiction. Jem and Scout believe that she is just a mean old lady that talks bad about her father all day, but doesn’t know she is fighting a morphine addiction. After Jem finds out about the death of Mrs. Dubose and the gift she left him, he doesn’t appreciate the perfect camellia and Atticus tells him that it was her way of telling you everything is alright now. “A lady?”
Atticus Finch is a well-rounded and respected resident of Maycomb County, Alabama. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus takes on the duty of being an attorney and a single father of two adventurous children. He believes in equality among races, although a lot of Maycomb County’s white community thinks they are high and mighty compared to the black folk. In a time of injustice, Atticus represents an innocent black man accused of rape making him respected among the black community. At home, Atticus taught his children important life lessons about equality and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. This character represents the importance of morality and reasonability. Throughout the novel, Atticus has very good morals and
Atticus is non judgmental; he treats blacks and everyone equally. He puts himself in someone else’s shoes and respects their thoughts and opinions. He is a very responsible father, while managing his lawyer cases he still made time to teach his children Jem and Scout the lessons they need to become honest and dignified people later in life. Atticus demonstrates responsibility when he takes time to explain to Scout “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view” (39).
Mrs. Dubose is rude to the children and she expresses her dismay for Atticus defending Tom Robinson. When Jem responds by destroying her flowers, Atticus punishes him by making him read to Mrs. Dubose every day for a period of time. Jem must abide by Atticus’s instruction and be civil to the old lady. By learning self-control, Jem took a giant step towards becoming an adult. He also discovers that Mrs. Dubose is a woman of extreme courage, and he eventually comes to respect her brave battle with her morphine addiction.
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...
Lois McMaster Bujold once said, “Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Atticus Finch a heroic figure in the novel To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee is known as a white lawyer who defended a “black” man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a disturbing man, Bob Ewell. Atticus knows his reputation is at risk, when he decides to take a black man’s court case. He is appointed to this case because Mayella Ewell blamed an innocent black man, Tom Robinson of raping and beating her. She fails to admit the truth due to obeying her father. In the 1930’s racism was extremely crucial and no matter what the truth was a white person was most likely believed over an African American. Miss Maudie, The Finches neighbor tells the kids, “There are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them” (Lee 219). Atticus Finch is highly respected and someone everyone can look up too in Maycomb, Alabama. Throughout the novel, Atticus presents himself as calm, courageous, and an open-minded person.
True role models are those who possess the qualities that we would like to have and advocates for what they believe in. In an instant bestseller classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes Atticus Finch as a role model and still is to be considered one today. Atticus Finch, being a single father in the 1930s has an extremely different parenting style compared to the other parents. Despite the fact of living in a town full of racism, Atticus is one individual with a very different opinion towards African Americans. Furthermore, Atticus is a very humble man. In addition, Atticus is courageous to defend an African American, Tom Robinson. Not to mention that Atticus is an upstanding mortal, he also has extraordinary parenting skills.
They saw Mrs.Dubose more as Tom Robinson’s case outbreaks into court. Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus is defending, so every work day Atticus walks past Mrs.Dubose house. Which is “two doors up the street… with steep front steps and a dog trot-hall.” It was not until Jem needed to read to her, when him and Scout got to go inside of her house. “An oppressive odor met us when we crossed the threshold… In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the brass bed was Mrs.Dubose… There was a marble-topped washstand by her bed.” In her house, Jem begins to leave his safety at home and face society's disapproval, which is symbolically represented as Mrs.Dubose. She represents the racism of the Old South, and Jem had to face his problems as he begins to come of age as a mature man.
People who demonstrate great courage are often driven by the unwavering determination in their hearts. Mrs. Dubose, an elderly neighbor of the Finches, is a cantankerous ill-tempered woman who continually insults Scout and Jem as they pass by her house. One day, Jem destroys Mrs. Dubose’s camellia plants in a fit of rage, and must read to her every day as his punishment. Over the course of the month, Jem and Scout are forced to endure Mrs. Dubose’s constant tantrums during their reading sessions. After her death, Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose had been heavily addicted to morphine, and that her reading sessions were part of her successful efforts in overcoming her addiction. “’She said she meant to break herself of it...
Mrs. Dubose is overtly racist, representing the ‘bad’ part of the town. In chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose repeatedly insults Jem and Scout because their father, Atticus Finch, is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of rape. The theme is revealed in chapter 11.