In Harper Lee’s 1930’s based novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus demonstrates a rare style of parenting. Throughout the novel, Atticus requests various times that his children are told the direct truth, rather than a sugar-coated lie. Also, Atticus challenges his children to nurture their independence. Finally, Atticus shows Jem and Scout how to be courageous, and he teaches them the value of equality. Ultimately, the novel reinforces the message that a unique style of parenting, such as Atticus’, will raise children to become very respectful and successful. When the holiday season arrives, the Finch family gathers at Finches Landing. The evening is going well, until Francis begins to aggrivate Scout, which eventually lead into a fight. As the crying Francis finally grasps the attention of his Grandmother, he exclaims, “Grandma, she called me a whore-lady and jumped on me!” (Lee 112). As a blank-faced Jean Louise stares into Francis’ eyes, she constantly gets questioned for her provocative language. Later that night, Uncle Jack returns with the Finch family to their home in Maycomb. “Uncle Jack?” asks Jean, …show more content…
When she obeys Atticus, and refrains from fighting the other children even when they call her a coward, she is being courageous. After giving his lecture on courage to Scout, he encounters a troubling situation. The menacing Bob Ewell runs into Atticus in the street, while Atticus is with his children. The pig-nosed man challenges Atticus to a fight, and when Atticus declines, Bob says, “Too proud to fight you nigger-loving bastard?” (Lee 291). Struggling to hold back, Atticus keeps his cool, and shuts Bob Ewell down by saying, “No, too old,” (291). Atticus then puts his hands in his pockets, and walks away. The fact that Atticus demonstrates intrepedation, even when he is being insulted, proves he is courageous and influences it towards his
The story begins as Scout describes her family history and her town, Maycomb during the time of the Great Depression. Atticus is a prominent lawyer and the Finch family is reasonably well off in comparison to the rest of society. She and her brother, Jem, meet Dill, who has come to live in their neighborhood for the summer, and the children share stories and fantasies about the mystery man who lives near by. The man’s name is Arthur, or Boo, Radley. The house
Instead of explaining to his children how the white society should treat others of a different race, he teaches his kids about equality. He says to Scout: "I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you" (Lee 144). In other words, Atticus declares that he does his best to love everybody, which teaches Scout that she should not judge or mistreat others by race, but to give equal respect to all mankind. Moreover, Atticus gives his children a perspective on what real courage is. He says to Scout: “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. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (Lee 149). Atticus’ statement gives Scout a lesson. She learns that courage is not doing a hard task and being able to succeed in it. It is about believing in something and doing your best to achieve it, even though you may not succeed. Atticus teaches his kids moral values by telling them the act of true courage and leads them to the path of
If you were a parent would you want the best for your kids? Would you want to teach them to search out for the true meaning of dignity and respect? This was the goal of one father, Atticus Finch. Being a nearly fifty-year-old man with extremely young children he wanted to share his wisdom and firsthand experiences with his children to shape them into a respectable young man and woman. Throughout his life, Atticus is taught many experiences himself about not judging someone, and to stand up for the helpless and defenseless. Some important morals that he carried through to teach his children in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is to never judge someone by their social class or race, and to fight for the justice of all the people of Maycomb.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is about two children, Jem and Scout, and their relationships with their father, Atticus. The children raise themselves growing up, many people would say they were irresponsible, but they are both appear to be intelligent individuals. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird the novel demonstrates a rigid class structure and social stratification in the County of Maycomb. People should not be judged by their social class, they should be judged on their personality.
Through the eyes of an innocent child, the story of To Kill a Mockingbird introduces a world of corruption. In the disordered town of Maycomb, certain character traits are developed and displayed in a specific local family. The opposition against their beliefs brings daunting situations to their door. Yet, this one family perseveres through the continuous corruption of Maycomb. Therefore, this recurring motif of character development really plays into the characters and, consequently, the story. This evident pattern of courage composes the Finch family: Jem, Scout, and Atticus.
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the main characters Scout and Jem, embark upon a three year journey of moral development in which they gain wisdom and understanding, allowing them to mature. In the book, they are taught by their father, Atticus, to be good, moral people. Atticus does this because he does not want his children to be instilled with the racist beliefs of Maycomb. Scout and Jem deal with the townspeople’s backlash against their father, who defends an african-american, Tom Robinson, in court, and they confront Mr. Arthur ”Boo” Radley, who they believe to be a monster. Even though Scout and Jem experience many of the same pivotal moments, the ways they deal with, cope, and understand their maturation differs greatly.
Research shows that children are more susceptible to commit crimes, fail in maintaining long lasting relationships and develop depression as well as other psychological disorders from the effects of bad parenting. In fact, many people grow up treating others the same way their parents have treated them with reference to their parents’ values, behaviours and attitudes. Harper Lee, an American author, expressed her childhood experiences in Alabama through writing the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel Harper Lee highlights the prevailing racist attitudes that existed in Alabama in the 1930s. Lee does this by having the parenting style of Atticus, and its impact on his children, stand in contrast to these prevailing racist attitudes. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that Atticus Finch is a great parent because he is not a hypocrite, he has a sense of fairness and he has good morals and values.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird particularizes the life of the relationship between a motherless brother and sister, Jem and Scout, and their level-headed father, Atticus, who decides to answer any question that their children may have, with ease. Scout Finch, having been a girl, has many masculine influences, which therefore motivate her to dress like a boy and be fascinated with being tough, guns, and adventure. Although improper, Scout’s upbringing shows her how good and evil continuously clash within her society. Through the entirety of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals how an immature tomboy can grow into a pure hearted young woman, who can tell her superiors about the difference from right and wrong, and who knows how to properly deal with the different kinds of people she will encounter later in life.
As a parent, how would you raise your child? In our novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the main father figure was Atticus Finch. Atticus raised his two children in a small town in the 1930's, that still practiced segregation between races. How he raised his children in this setting can be argued to be either an adequate form of parenting or inadequate form. Firstly, how blunt he teaches his children about foul words that are usually avoided in households with young children can be seen in the following quote.
Growing up happens during the magical times of freedom given to children in their early years. Wise parents discern when freedom is necessary for their children, are very clear about their expectations, and determine fitting consequences for actions out of line. Harper Lee personifies this role of a wise and caring parent in the father figure of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a character made to mirror the author’s own father, is a lawyer and a well-respected citizen of his Southern Alabama town. Through Atticus, Harper Lee establishes a standard of good and evil, developing the theme of morality during his interactions. Atticus establishes right from wrong in most every relationship, especially with his children, his
Lastly, Atticus emphasizes how vital inner peace and making the moral decision in a given situation is to maturation. For instance, in a conversation with his children, Atticus comments, “Before I can live with other folks I got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by a majority rule is a man’s conscience.” (Lee 105) By emphasizing the importance of having personal integrity and doing the ethical thing in any circumstance, Atticus provides his children with wisdom that will carry them through life. Therefore, through unremittingly reiterating the importance of moral decisions, proving the need for pacifism and establishing the importance of multiple perspectives, Atticus verifies himself as a major contributor in Jem and Scout’s development into adolescence.
“To Kill a Mockingbird”, an acclaimed novel by Harper Lee, is recognized throughout the world. The novel follows a lawyer and his children prior to and during a legal case to defend a black male. That lawyers name is Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is not just an ordinary father. He teaches his children things no parent of the 1930s, or even the modern time period, would think of doing. His style parenting, compared to modern day parenting and parenting in the 1930s, is unique and is not traditionally the way a parent wants to raise their child.
Parenting, lauded as one of the most difficult jobs in the world, means constantly being under the scrutiny of others, including your children’s friends. This is no different for the parenting styles of Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell, and Walter Cunningham, three parents from Harper Lee’s critically acclaimed novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Three different parentings styles led to three different types of children: the curious minded, the rascals, and the respectable, showing that how a parent treats their child and others in their lives does matter.
Harper Lee uses her novel to teach us important lessons from the characters presented in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus, a fair and moral character, whose parenting style is unique, lined with honest and example, teaches us to follow his ways. Scout, an innocent girl who teaches us what’s important in life. Tom Robinson, someone who is ostracized for being African American, can teach us the importance of equal treatment and awakens us to our surrounding society. Lee’s construction of characters gives us perspective to issues in our society today, how they still matter and what we can learn from the novel such as compassion, justice and understanding.
Everyone has heard “the apple does not fall far from the tree.” This phrase means that kids tend to resemble their parents, specifically their characteristics and morals, and this is no coincidence. Parents act as a model to their children -- through their actions, advice, and views. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird represents this idea perfectly. The author uses her best-selling book to show that children gain their ideas and insights directly from their parents, showing several situations and instances in which parents encourage their children to follow their ideas. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee proposes the idea that the development of a child’s values depends solely upon the influence of his or her parents, as is demonstrated through Mr. Ewell’s reprehensible impact on Mayella and Atticus’s exemplary effect on Jem and Scout.