How Is Atticus Learned In To Kill A Mockingbird

Although Atticus was not always upfront and obvious with his lessons, he has taught Jem and Scout many valuable life teachings throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. The first lesson he has taught Jem and Scout is the what real courage looks like. After Jem loses his head and destroys Mrs. Dubose’s camellias he is told to go to Mrs. Dubose’s house everyday and read to her for a few hours everyday for a month. Jem ends up actually reading to her for more than a month, which makes him a bit angry. Eventually his job of reading to her is over, and he goes back to his normal schedule. One day Atticus is called to the Dubose house and it is revealed that Mrs. Dubose has died. Atticus is telling his children just how brave Mrs. Dubose was, and that she

was a great example of courage when he says, “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” (Lee 149). This quote shows how many kids don’t think of what real courage looks like. Jem and Scout are obviously affected by this and will remember this lesson in the future.
The other lesson Atticus teaches Jem and Scout is the importance of not prejudging people. Scout is trying to make her father not force her to go to school the next day, when Atticus tells her a simple trick, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 39). Atticus uses Miss Caroline as an example. Well everyone in in Maycomb knew you shouldn’t hand something to a cunningham, Miss Caroline had no idea. Some might think that she knew nothing, but if you put yourself in their shoes you would notice it as an honest mistake and that you shouldn’t expect her to know everything about everyone in Maycomb from one day of teaching there. This lesson is an important teaching that Scout is often reminded of during the book. In conclusion Atticus teaches Jem and Scout many important lessons that recur several times during the story.