Why Is Atticus Disrespectful

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch normally is seen as the most heroic and wonderful father out of many american classics. But Atticus’ unique way of parenting, compared to everybody else in Maycomb, is the downfall of this character because the way he leads by example, while trying to make his kids see the best in everyone and have empathy for them, Atticus puts them in danger and teaches them there is no consequences. The simple things such as not following through with his threats, and brushing comments off his shoulder without giving it a second thought are a few examples why his way of parenting is irresponsible.
There are many cases in this book that show Atticus not following through with his threats because he is trying

to see the best in people. For example, in the beginning of the book Scout gets into a habit of using foul language and all Atticus says is, “Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they’re not attracting attention with it.” (Chapter 9). In this situation Atticus is seeing the best in Scout and is betting she will stop. Scout had been using bad language for a while before and didn’t stop until her uncle scolded her for it. If Atticus would have said something rather than blowing it off, this habit could have been gone sooner. But because Atticus didn’t tell Scout off she continued to use the language because she knew there would be no consequence from Atticus. Another example is again when Atticus is talking to Jack and he says, “I admit that. So far I’ve been able to get by with threats. Jack, she minds me as well as she can. Doesn’t come up to scratch half the time, but she tries.” (Chapter 9) This is when Atticus and Jack are talking about how Atticus has never hit his children, only threatened them. He says Scout attempts to be goods aren’t effective, but it’s fine. If Atticus went through with his threats and showed that their actions were bad, instead of showing empathy for them, Scout would have tried harder. The result of Scout trying harder to be good could have been her getting into less fights and arguments.
Not only does Atticus see the best in his children but even after Bob had threatened Atticus, harassed Tom’s wife, and broke into the judge’s house, Atticus still chooses to see the best in Bob Ewell. For example Atticus says, “He’s had his fling with about everybody now, so he ought to be satisfied. He’ll settle down when the weather changes.” (Chapter 27). Atticus is trying to see the best in Bob, he told his kids not to worry and Bob is just mad. On the night of the pageant, even after all the things Bob has done, Atticus wasn’t going to go to the pageant with Scout. He doesn’t even make Jem walk with her, he just suggests it. As a result of him not going and seeing the best in Bob, Bob tries to murder Jem and Scout. If Atticus would have shown more worry about Bob and walked Scout, this attack would have been less likely to have happened and the kids would have been more careful and caution when they go out alone.
When it comes to Scout and Jem wandering around town alone it can be just as dangerous as always seeing the best in people.

Atticus never has consequences when the kids break the rules which causes them to be out of control, disrespectful, and not socially acceptable to the community. And because Atticus never gave them consequences, throughout the book Jem and Scout still do whatever they want no matter what Atticus says. One example of how Jem and Scout have learned that because there is no consequences and can get what they want is, “‘The jury might be out and back in a minute, we don’t know-’ but we could tell Atticus was relenting. ‘Well, you’ve heard it all, so you might as well hear the rest.’” (Chapter 21). Before, Atticus told Jem and Scout to go home and they shouldn’t have been there, but Jem begs Atticus to let them stay. Because Atticus then tells them they can stay, they have this mindset where there won’t be punishment for not listening and they only have to beg to get their way. Another example of Atticus not giving punishments is when he catching Jem, Scout, and Dill playing the Radley game, “‘Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radleys?’ ‘No sir,’ said Jem, reddening. ‘I hope it doesn’t,’ he said shortly, and went inside the house.” (Chapter 4). Once again Atticus does nothing about what the kids are doing, he empathizes for them because they are children. When Atticus only says this, the children still continue make fun of the Radleys and to play the game behind Atticus’ back but only changing the names of the

characters.
Although Atticus is seen as a loving and high-minded father to most people, his parenting is irresponsible and absentminded. Leading by example and trying to see the best in people is a way of good parenting but you shouldn’t trick your children into finding the best in someone because as Scout and Jem learned it can become dangerous. Over all Atticus was a reckless