More handpicked essays just for you.
To kill a mockingbird equality and justice
Essay on atticus finch as a person
To kill a mockingbird racial injustice
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
“You never really know a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” said Atticus Finch” (Lee 30) What this means is that you don’t know someone until you take a walk in there shoes. You don’t know what there life at home is. It’s saying that you shouldn’t judge someone without knowing what they are going through or dealing with. This quote is centered around the whole book, To Kill A Mockingbird. When the story all comes together, this is one of the main themes of the story. In this book Atticus always is respectful to others. He treats others the way he wants to be treated. Atticus is a wise father, a clever lawyer, and a brave man.
Atticus is wise father. His wisdom is shown throughout the entire book. Atticus was homeschooled,
…show more content…
but he wanted his children to be well educated. He knew it was best for them even though the kids weren’t thrilled about it, so Atticus made a compromise with them that if they keep going to school he will continue reading to them. “ If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have. Is it a bargain?” said Atticus Finch (Lee 31) Atticus is trying to bring his children up right, and to lead them in the right direction. He wants them to come to him with their problems, and not to get sucked into thinking like the rest of the town. “I just hope Scout and Jem come to me with their answers instead of listening to the town.” said Atticus Finch (Lee 88) Throughout the story Atticus continues to guide them. He is a very educated, and wise father to Scout and Jem. Atticus is a very clever lawyer.
He is smarter than most, and puts his knowledge and education to good use. In the Tom Robinson case, he had been appointed to defend Tom. Tom had been accused of raping Mayella Ewell. One of the ways Atticus tried to figure the case out was, he had Bob Ewell write his name. Atticus realized he was left handed. “Would you write your name for us?” “ Clearly now, so the jury can see you do it.” said Atticus Finch (Lee 177)Mayella was hit in her right eye, so most likely it was a left handed person who hit her. It couldn’t have been Tom because his left hand has been chopped off by a cotton gin when he was a little boy. “ He got it caught in a cotton gin when he was a boy…” said Reverend Sykes (Lee 186) Another fact from the trial was, Mayella had been choked around the neck. There were finger marks around the back and front of her neck. It couldn’t have been Tom because he could have only used one hand. “...her arms were bruised, and she showed me her neck. There were definite finger marks on her gullet-” said Mr. Tate (Lee 169) Atticus is very clever. He pursued through the trial to try to prove Tom innocent and did everything in his
power. Atticus is a very brave man. His bravery is shown when he takes on the Tom Robinson case. He knows he cannot win the case, but does everything in his power to prove Tom innocent. He knew he would be judged for taking the case, but he does it anyway. All they had was a white man’s word against a black mans. “It couldn’t be worse, Jack. The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells.” said Atticus Finch (Lee 88) His bravery is also shown when he anticipated a mob to go for Tom at the jail. So Atticus went to the jail and just sat outside of it until they got there. He knew he could get hurt by them or even killed. He pushed that thought away and just did what he thought was right. “He’da killed you last night when he first went there.” said Jem (Lee 157) “He might have hurt me a little” said Atticus (Lee 157) Atticus knew the danger of going to the jail, but did it anyways. He had shown bravery throughout the book. Atticus is a wise father, clever lawyer, and brave man. He is a very wise father. He wants his children to be brought up educated, and with good hearts. Atticus is very clever as well. In the case he did everything he could to prove Tom innocent, he put his education to good use when he had Bob Ewell write his name. His bravery is shown when he takes on the Tom Robinson case. Also when he waited outside of the jail, knowing the consequences he could be facing. Today we need to be wise, clever, and brave to get through the problems of the world. If we aren’t wise, clever, or brave we wouldn’t be going anywhere in life. We need those qualities in life everyday. Being wise, clever and brave has gotten us very far.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
Atticus Finch’s unique, courageous personality and contrarian mindset are proven through his unconventional actions throughout the novel. His stoic nature correlates with his extreme courage, a moral facet of his multi-layered personality that he highlights with various acts of nobility that many in Maycomb do not expect and often despise, but he continues on regardless. Early on, Atticus shows an aspect of his moral courage when he consoles Scout on the topic of getting bullied about his decision to defend Tom Robinson. In this specific instance, Atticus explains to Scout that, “no matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). Letting insults and rude remarks fly over
The Importance of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird The core character of a novel is responsible for maintaining the stability of society within the novel, exhibiting qualities of a true hero, and constantly emphasizing the novel’s central themes. In the classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch serves as the core of the novel by displaying a character of stability, humility, and high moral standards. Atticus Finch is a character of stability in an unstable society.
Atticus is a person who wants to give people a new way of seeing things in certain situations. He treats his children with the utmost respect, and has the same respectable attitude in the house as on the streets. “First of all, ‘he said,’ if
“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, 33) What Atticus means in this quote, is a lot like the quote “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It means you shouldn’t judge anyone by the way they look. You have to get to know them first. * “Imagine you’re playing a game of monopoly. The money is handed out. The player on your right gets double your a mount and the player to your left gets triple your amount. There is also a change of rules. Instead of collecting two hundred dollars when you pass go like the other players, you
When people think about heros it is a person in a cape flying into burning buildings to save people or fighting a villain to save the world. According to Oxford Dictionary a hero is a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. This shows how just normal people can be qualified as heros. A book that exemplifies this is To Kill A Mockingbird because it is filled with people that went out of their way to help others or the society as a whole. A person who did this in particular was Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch was a hero because he fell under the definition and was admired for his courage, achievements, and noble qualities.
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we are introduced to the character Atticus. He is a hard working single parent of two who is kindhearted and does what he believes is right and treats everyone equally. Being such a hard worker, his mind is often on work, even at home, which means less time spent with his children. While Atticus may make some mistakes as a parent, overall he is an admirable father.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This quote is from Atticus. I chose this one because it represents how some people look at different people and how they can treat a person with complete respect or treat them like complete dirt. (30).
First, Atticus is able to get valuable information during the Tom Robinson trial by playing a trick during the cross examination of Mr. Bob Ewell. “Mr Ewell can you read and write?’... I most certainly can’ ‘Mr Ewell wrote on the back on the envelope... What’s so interestin?’ ‘You’re left handed Mr.Ewell.” (236). Atticus is attempting to belittle Mr.Ewell to expose that he is left handed to the jury. This is important in the case as Tom Robinson’s left hand is very weak and Mayella Ewell’s injuries were on her right side. Secondly, Atticus was once the best shot in Maycomb County and possesses a natural talent for shooting. “Forgot to tell you the other day that besides playing the Jew’s harp, Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time.” (129). Atticus carries the ability to grab a rifle and shoot on command and hit is target fourteen out of fifteen times, but he will only do so to defend his friends, family or neighbours. Moving forward, Atticus is very intelligent. “Our mother died when I was two, so I never felt her absence... Atticus met her when he was first elected to the state legislature” (7). Atticus was a part of the state legislature at a young age, which is not a particularly easy feat to
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.
In a world of racism and prejudice towards blacks, winning a case for a black is near impossible. However, a brave lawyer takes a case for a black man. Will he win or will he lose? In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a young girl’s father willingly accepts a case that he knows he won’t win. He must defend a black man who has been charged with the assault of a white girl. Atticus, the lawyer, is justified in defending the black man, even though he won’t win because he has the best chance of winning, he needs to protect his integrity and he will procure more followers than enemies.
Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach, a contemporary novel, shares numerous characteristics with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written in the 1960's. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, McCorkle's novel documents the life of a young girl in a small southern town. The two narrators, Kate Burns and Scout Finch, endure difficult encounters. A study of these main characters reveals the parallels and differences of the two novels. Jill McCorkle duplicates character similarities and rape from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to show the reader how young girls think and develop.
He states, “Scout, you never really understand people until you consider things from their point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). This means how sometimes unless you are someone you can’t fully understand them and how they feeling and behaving. Atticus explains to Scout that caring about others will help Scout understand them more. It will help Scout further understand why something may be happening. Also, Miss Maudie also explains how the Mockingbirds in the trees help further understand life lessons. Miss Maudie states, “Mockingbirds don’t do nothing but make music for us to enjoy… they don’t do one thing but sing our hearts out for us” (119). This means how in life, people shouldn’t naturally hate someone or something. People need to be able to care and have empathy for others. People in the book become the characteristic of mockingbirds. For example, Boo Radley. Boo doesn’t do anything to annoy or harm people, but the children decide to
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...
In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus, Scouts father, displays the characteristic of being wise. After Jem and Scouts' failed attempt to get their neighbor Boo Radley out of the house Atticus stated that, “What Mr. Radley did was his own business. If he wanted to come out, he would. If he wanted to stay inside his own house, he had the right to stay inside free from the attentions of inquisitive children” (Lee 49). This shows that Atticus is a wise man because he knows how Boo Radley feels and he understands that Boo Radley might just want to be left alone because that’s how Atticus would feel. Now when Jem was questioning Atticus about why a white man is more trusted than a black man Jem seemed to of get upset. But Atticus reminded Jem about how wrong a man is for treating another man of a different color by saying, "let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (Lee 220). This is another example of how wise and old Atticus really is; it shows that he knows how people should treat each other after growing up and watching the same things that are happening through his children’s youth. Atticus has been through the same things as his children and he wants them to think the way he thinks about people, which is everyone should be equal in and outside the courtroom. Following this further, John Kumalo in Cry, the Beloved Country is also ...