Reality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Where Fiction Becomes Reality

There are so many ways that authors shape characters into fictitious fantasies that we as readers become attached to. The way the character act, speak, and think is what really gives the opportunity for the reader to become attached, it just depends on how well the author shapes them in those areas. Harper Lee does an extraordinary job in giving personalities to her character in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. All of the characters in the novel reach readers in a different way. For example, the way Scout is young, yet also knows things like an adult would is one reason why many readers would say she is the best character. Or all of those who claim that Jem, the soft spoken older brother is the most important

character, but this is not the case. It is obvious that Atticus is the best character from the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, because of his morals, the way he raises his children, and how he stands up for what he thinks is right.
Atticus’ morals are a huge reason why he is the all time best character from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.

He thinks way ahead of his time period in the sense that he already does his best to treat everyone with equal amounts of respect. Atticus lives in the south so valuing things like equality is not a common thing for white people to value. “‘You aren’t really a nigger-lover, are you?’ ‘I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody’”(Lee page 144). The moment when Scout is upset about kids at school calling her dad a “nigger-lover” is priceless because of the way Atticus responds to her. He states that he is most definitely a “nigger-lover” since he tries to love everyone despite their ethnicity. He also thinks that you should always do good even when those around you are pushing you to do wrong. This happens when he is Tom Robertson’s lawyer and all of the people around him are bullying him and sending him death threats, but he does not let this phase him. Atticus firmly believes that Tom deserves a chance at freedom, so he can take the threats with a grain of salt if it means giving that innocent colored man a chance in the courtroom. With this, it can also be seen that Atticus is okay with standing alone and that believing in what he thinks is morally right is more important than fitting in and that itself, is

phenomenal.
Atticus raises his children alone and in a different way than most at that time which is just another reason why he is the most amazing character in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. He is teaching Jem and Scout like they are adults, he answers questions honestly and does not sugar coat things very often. Atticus is always trying to teach them to be open minded about topics like racism and how to react when people bully you. “‘baby, it’s never an insult to be called what someone thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you’” (Lee pages 144-145). In that moment, Scout is upset that someone at school referred to Atticus as a “nigger-lover” and rather than making a scene like most people would have done during that time period, Atticus shows her a different way to deal with those issues. His way of thinking is something that he wants his children to adopt, which could also be applied to those in today’s world that are trying to deal with harsh words. On top of teaching them how to cope with bullies, he teaches them how to love. Atticus shows Scout that Calpurnia deserves equal respect that is given to himself. Atticus knows Calpurnia loves his children and he wants to show Scout that it is okay to love everyone so that she does not get caught in the “normal” mindset of that time. A final important thing that Atticus shows his children is how to control their temper and hold their tongues. Several times throughout the novel Atticus reminds Scout that she needs to keep quiet and not say things that are irrelevant. Knowing when to talk and when to be silent is a quality that not many people have in the current day and age, but was a necessary part of life during their lives.
Atticus has many great things about him that make him the best character and one of those is how his forward thinking attitude is way ahead of his time.

His views on equality are correct and it is brave of him to spread his thoughts the way that he does because it was dangerous to defend black rights in the south during The Great Depression since that would cause all the white folk to turn on you. If you defended the blacks, they basically treated you as a black. Atticus thought colored people were no different than white people and he even goes as far as to defend Calpurnia in front of his own

sister.
“Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I Couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are.’” (Lee page 182). Alexandra was acting just like any normal white would, but Atticus was laying down the lines with her right from the beginning. He calls Cal a part of the family which was lucky for Calpurnia, since most black women in homes were not treated with such a loving hand. Calpurnia holds a place in all of their hearts and the way Atticus defends her is a crazy thing for a white man to do back then. This and several other scenes in the book portray how Atticus just thinks beyond his time. Equality would not happen until long after his death, but despite all that, he sticks to his beliefs and passes those thoughts on to his children.
There are many points that can be made to defend any character in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, but it is clear that Atticus is the best character by far. He is standing out against all stereotypical white beliefs and raising his children based on that love for everyone. Treating his kids like adults and speaking honestly to them is almost as astounding as the way he stands up for what he believes in and is passive aggressive in dealing with criticism. He is such an amazing character for this book because he has such a forward thinking outlook on life. Many would disagree and state that Jem or Scout are more well shaped than Atticus, but that is clearly not the case.