How Is Atticus Influence In To Kill A Mockingbird

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in 1933-1935 in Maycomb, Alabama. The characters in To Kill A Mockingbird impact the readers. They teach us lessons and influence our how we act after reading the book. I love many of the characters in the book, but my favorite is Atticus. There are many reasons that I love Atticus, but the main reason is because of his views on life.
Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout. He is an amazing father because he treats Jem and Scout the same way he does adults. His wife passed away when the children were little, but his sister, Aunt Alexandra, comes to live with them for a while as feminine influence. He is “Maycomb County born and bred; he knew his people, they knew him, and because of Simon Finch’s

industry, Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly everyone in the town” (Lee 6). Atticus is a lawyer for Maycomb. He seems to be faced with the hard jobs because he had to defend “the last two persons hanged in the Maycomb Jail,” and now he has to defend Tom Robinson (Lee 5). Atticus is a brave man. Scout says, “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived” (Lee 134). He is also courageous because he chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of rape. His love for the community is a character trait that stands out to me. He tells Scout, “I do my best to love everyone” (Lee 144). The setting of To Kill a Mockingbird is when blacks and whites did not have equal rights, so the fact that Atticus loves everyone no matter what race, is astonishing.
Everything Atticus says and does inspires me, but my favorite thing that he says is when he is talking to Scout.

Scout is upset about school because Miss Caroline told her that Atticus taught her wrong and that she can’t read with him anymore. Atticus says, “First of all... 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-” (Lee 39). Scout replies saying, “Sir?” (Lee 39). Atticus then says, “-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” (Lee 39). This part of the novel shows who Atticus truly is. He puts others before himself which is a rare trait to find. An unknown poet wrote, “The boy you punched in the hall today. Committed suicide a few minutes ago. The boy you called lame. He has to work every night to support his family. That girl you pushed down the other day. She’s already being abused at home. That girl you called fat. She’s starving herself. The old man you made fun of cause of the ugly scars. He fought for our country. The boy you made fun of for crying. His mother is dying. You think you know them. Guess what? You don’t!” People today need to be more like Atticus and consider other’s feelings before your

own.
If Atticus was not a character in the book, it would not be near as good.

He teaches his children and peers many lessons. He mainly impacts the story by being different from others in the town. Atticus tells Scout, “I’m simply defending a Negro-his name’s Tom Robinson… Scout, you aren’t old enough to understand some things yet, but there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man…” (Lee 100). After Scout asks why he is defending Tom, he says, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee 100). Atticus defends Tom even though the whole town says it is wrong. He changes a few characters’ views on racism. He also started the beginning of equality in a courtroom. The jury voted Tom as guilty, but Atticus was still pleased with the trial. When Jem tells Atticus that the jury decided fast, Atticus says, “No it didn’t… That was one thing that made me think, well, this may be the shadow of a beginning. That jury took a few hours. An inevitable verdict, maybe, but usually it takes ‘em just a few minutes. This time… ”(Lee 297). Atticus made the jury so undecided that it took them hours to decide if the 2 white people were lying or the black man. He started a change in racism for the town of Maycomb.
Overall, Atticus is a great neighbor, father, brother, son, lawyer, and friend. He taught me many

lesson throughout the book. He strives to be a better person everyday and raise his children right. I think that everyone can learn from Atticus. If you apply his lessons to your life, you will be a better person.