Atticus Finch is a tremendous father to his kids in To Kill a Mockingbird. He displays utmost respect to all who cross him and makes it his mission to raise his children, Scout and Jem, properly. Even while working long day hours as a lawyer, Atticus is able to find ample time to spend with his children, which greatly impacts them. At the beginning of the book, Scout is only 6 years of age. Naturally, she does not quite grasp certain concepts as well as the adult figures in her life do. Scout’s first day of school is not what she dreamt of, and it actually turns out to be a nightmare. As she explains to Atticus her issues, he replies with an insightful piece of knowledge, “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better …show more content…
Scout admires Atticus greatly and clings on to his every word. Knowing this, he teaches her a valuable lesson that she will soon understand on a deeper level. Jem, being only a few years older than Scout, understands who his father is and that he is very different from the others in Maycomb. Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict and a neighbor of the Finch’s, was not exactly liked by the children. Despite her occasional rudeness, Atticus remained respectful to her at all times. After ruining her flower beds, Atticus punishes Jem by having him read to her everyday. Mrs. Dubose unfortunately passes away and Jem is stunned when Atticus sings her praises. Atticus calms Jem by saying, “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 know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 115). Atticus teaches Jem that courage is not necessarily carrying a gun, but taking responsibility and showing kindness even if we have been
...reinforcing the idea that the roles are now switched. Atticus keeps calm during most of the situations, but lets others boss him around and take control while he mainly sits and waits nearby. Scout and Jem begin to stand up for their father when he will not stand up for himself and act caring as if they were in charge of Atticus’ actions, protecting him from the evils of others. Scout supports this idea when she begins to talk very adult-like with Mr. Cunningham, especially showing her thoughtful wisdom when speaking of “entailments”. Atticus later shows that he is proud of his children for sticking up for him when he did not himself by massaging Jem’s hair in his “one gesture of affection.” So while Atticus often is being the best father figure he can to Scout and Jem, they are also very helpful to him by taking control of situations that he would not be able to.
Then Scout encounters the seeming vindictiveness of Mrs. Dubose. After this she dies, Atticus explains to them how courageous the lady was because she knew she was dying but was determined to die free of morphine which had preciously controlled her. She fought against great odds, even though she knew that she would lose. The above lesser experiences prepare Scout for the greater test of Courage: the is Atticus’ fight for Tom’s life even though he knows that he will lose the case and even though he knows that he is fighting against tremendous odds. This realization forces Scout to quit fighting with her fists and try to combat others opinions with her head rather than her physical violence.
Jem's definition of bravery changes as he grows up; he gains insight and experience of the world around him. At the beginning of the story, Jem only thought of bravery as touching the side of the Radley house, only because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare. (pg 13)" However, as the story continues, Jem learns about courage from several events. Upon hearing about a trial where a black person's been prosecuted, Atticus decides, as a lawyer, to defend that person. Atticus chose to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, because it's the right thing to do, and no one else wanted to ,or had the bravery to. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win, (pg 76)" he said to Scout and Jem when Scout asked. Atticus was courageous for doing something just, even though it's not encouraged. Jem also learns a different kind of courage after learning about Mrs. Dubose's fight with a morphine addiction. Jem and Scout disliked Mrs. Dubose because she was quite a mean person. Later, they were glad they didn't have to read to her anymore. Atticus told Jem that Mrs. Dubose simply had her own views on things, and that her fits were from her addiction. Atticus made Jem read to her and explained, "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 know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway According to [Mrs. Dubose's] views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew. (pg 112)" This is similar to Atticus's choice to defend Tom.
Dubose’s flowers and when atticus finds out, he sends Jem to her house everyday for a month to read to her as punishment. After the month of reading to Mrs. Dubose, Atticus teaches jem that not everybody lives there live the same way as him. When Mrs. Dubose died, Atticus told Jem “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with gun in his hand. Its when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (Lee, 128). Nobody needs a gun to be brave, they have a lot of courage that everyone in maycomb believes in them, so if anything stands in there way they will still try anything to make things right.
By fighting with her head, it can save Scout from a lot of trouble. One of the most valuable life lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is about courage. Courage is not always physical, it can be mental too. After Mrs. Dubose passes away, Atticus tells Jem she was the bravest person he knew. Atticus says," According to Mrs. Dubose views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody” (page 149).
Although she struggles at first, Scout develops a higher level of maturity which allows her to control her temper and simply defend her father with her words, without being rude. Jem is also faced with these type of situations and struggles with his anger, for instance when he attacks Mrs. Dubose’s flowers. Atticus goes to great lengths to teach his children that in life, they must learn to stay calm and be kind to everyone, despite how cruel those people may be. Scout and Jem face several situations in which their control is tested, which leads them to “come of age” and develop skills necessary for adulthood. They learn to defend Atticus and themselves by using words and developing self-control.
He is always available to give advice to his children, even if they make a major mistake, because he wants them to have discipline. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch shows this with his advice, his actions and his respect towards his children, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Jem Finch. Atticus teaches his children throughout the novel with his words of advice. This leads to Scout and Jem becoming more obedient. Atticus gave Jem and Scout air rifles for Christmas.
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 their father all day but doesn’t know she is fighting a morphine addiction. After Jem finds out 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?” Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. After all those things she said about you, a lady?” “She was, 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 man with a gun in his hands” (p.149).This conversation between Atticus and Jem represent how Atticus opens up his mind to see things from other point of view. Atticus is concerned that Jem takes his lesson of courage to heart because he wants Jem to take what he lear...
Harper lee in this novel makes me feel relief and happiness that a man like Atticus raises Scout and Jem. Atticus is an ideal father, even though he makes mistakes, he always tries to be the best father. His parenting style is firm but fair and he lets the children make their own decisions and discoveries. He treats the children as equals always telling the truth about everything and letting them call him “Atticus”. As a father he leads by example.
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.
...n you know that you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway…She died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew” (149). This description of Mrs. Dubose’s bravery served as a sharp contrast to Jem’s view of courage. He saw it as the sheer defiance of fear and the strength to overcome every obstacle. Atticus’ description provided a new, more realistic assessment of bravery. Witnessing the immense will and courage of Mrs. Dubose inspired a complete change in Jem’s attitude about courage. At the beginning of the story, Jem believed the courage was merely the absence of fear. At the conclusion of Part One, however, he gained a new perspective on bravery, identifying it as the ability to endure in the face of inevitable failure. In discovering this fact, Jem not only gained a new attitude towards bravery, but also grew as a character.
Children are known to mimic and pick up their parent’s every move. With all this admiration and responsibility, parents are expected to be the best person they can be as everything they do will have an impact on their child. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout is an example of how children are affected by their parents. Scout is a young girl who lives in Maycomb County of Alabama during the Great Depression. Throughout the story, Scout and her big brother Jem learn and grow with the help of their father Atticus. Atticus Finch is a respectable lawyer who puts in all of his effort to defend the innocent African American man, Tom Robinson against false rape accusations from Mayella and Bob Ewell. His sense of justice and beliefs are
To begin with, Jem and Scout determine that courage means doing what is right, even if it involves life threatening risks. In chapter eleven, Jem Finch, has ruined the patches of Mrs. Dubose’s lovely camellias. As soon as Atticus has heard of Jem’s little act of rebellion, he gives Mrs. Dubose the opportunity of deciding Jem’s punishment. Specifically, she establishes that Jem shall read to her every day after school. After Jem has finished his retribution, Atticus informs him of Mrs. Dubose’s death. As a result, Atticus speaks of Mrs. Dubose’s bravery. Jem starts to ask his father why he thinks this of Mrs. Dubose. Atticus replies, “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 know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 112). Accordingly, Atticus is trying to show that heroism comes from the people who do what their gut says is right, because that is courage. Mrs. Dubose wanted to die a pure woman instead of someone who had an addiction, which she successfully succeeded in. Another example of courage comes from when Atticus ta...
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is an ideal father, who sets a great example for his kids. A picture of Atticus is important to Scout because Atticus teaches Scout many important life lessons about life. Firstly, as Atticus talks to Scout about Miss. Stephanie, he states “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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,30). Scout realizes that one can never feel someone’s pain, happiness, or glory until she looks at their point of view of things; she learns to consider other people’s situation and feelings. She also understands that she will never know what goes in other people’s lives, and therefore she cannot judge anyone. Scout matures as she learns to apply Atticus’ wise advice to understand Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, who are individuals that are misunderstood by the community. Furthermore, as Miss Maudie talks to Scout, she states “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee, 46). Miss Maudie knows about Atticus’ personality quite well. Miss Maudie explains to Scout Atticus is a man with moral principles, he does what he believes is right even if others are not there to praise him. Through Atticus’ exemplary role, Scout understands the importance of integrity, and strong moral values. Finally, when Scout questions her father about the possible outcome of the trial, Atticus states “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to try to win” (Lee, 76). Atticus teaches Scout toleration, determination and moral courage. He already knows he is going to los...
Atticus is a good father. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus tries to be a good father as much as possible to Scout and Jem. Atticus finch is as good of a father as he is a lawyer. He is a loving and caring father and teaches Scout and Jem the difference between right and wrong as well as equality for all.