Characteristics Of Atticus

When Atticus took the case, he went up against Maycomb, a generally prejudiced town, in order to defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object of ridicule and that no one would forgive him for believing a black man's word over a white man's. Even his own sister expresses disapproval at his decision, practically telling him he was bringing disgrace to the family. Nevertheless, no matter how much his reputation suffered, he did not change his mind. Standing up for his morals and ethics was more important than what people thought about him. From the very start Atticus knows he will not win the case however he does his job and finishes what he set out to do.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma”— Ephesians 5:1-2. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes a person who puts these ancient words into practice and imitates Christ in many ways. A lawyer and father in the small town of Maycomb Alabama, Atticus Finch withstands the bombardments of a broken world during the early 1930’s. Through his sacrificial, kind, and deliberate characteristics, Atticus finch models a Christ like character.

Atticus Finch is remarkably courageous throughout the novel. Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face, goes to Tom’s cell knowing there would be a mob, and does his best in court to exonerate Tom. Firstly, Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face. Atticus says “ ‘...if spitting in my face saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take’ ” (Lee 218). Atticus is being disrespected in one of the worst ways by a man he could destroy, but knows that he was helping a victim of abuse, Mayella, so he does not make things worse by retaliating. Secondly, Atticus knows there is a mob coming, but nevertheless goes to Tom Robinson’s cell to defend him. Atticus knows the possibly dangerous mob is coming, with Scout observing “He seemed to be expecting them” (150). However, Atticus recognizes that he is Tom’s only hope, and utilizes his immense courage to face the mob. Thirdly, Atticus does his best to defend Tom in court. As Scout tells us, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (241). Atticus knows from the beginning he has next to no chance to win the trial, but still tries for Tom’s sake, for the other black people in the community, and for the chance he could appeal it and change laws for the good of African Americans. Atticus is an amazing example of courage in the face of adversity for his actions in To Kill A Mockingbird.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (John 3:2). After reading the two novels, many readers may agree that Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird have the most Christ-like quality than other novel characters. His unique character had developed himself to become a great father and a fabulous lawyer. Atticus Finch used his experience to teach his children to become a Christ-like person so that they will be blessed. According to the Bible, he is a qualified person in both his career and family. After reading the novel, one can quickly comprehend that his righteousness, determination and caring character had modeled him to become an admirable Christ figure.

Both dynamically but conveniently and well-rounded would be an example that would properly capture Atticus’s essence as well as his immense self-control, “Miss Stephanie said Atticus did not even bat an eye just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr.Ewell call him names horses could not bring her to repeat.”(Lee,217) Meaning that even when challenges arise that have the great potential to test one’s patience such as that of Mr.Ewell showing great disrespect Atticus maintained a calm conduct; he did not allow himself to succumb to Mr.Ewell's unfortunate level. Atticus Finch proves to be a wise, sophisticated parent/person in To Kill a

When Confronted by Bod Ewell Atticus remained silent, while he allowed Bod Ewell to call him all sorts of names that one would not ever wish to repeat. When Atticus was later asked by his son Jem, why he allowed Bod Ewell to say the things he did without reacting or striking back. Atticus remained Jem that Bod Ewell was a prideful man and then he had to get his revenge out on someone, then he responded with these words, “He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there.” This is just a beautiful example of Atticus’s self-sacrificing nature, as he remained silent and took on the wrath of an angry man so that Bod Ewell’s children would be spared from their father rage. Therefore, it is clearly evident through his actions seen in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is unarguably a self-sacrificing individual.

One of the most interesting characters in To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus Finch. He is a good representation of someone that is strong while keeping in mind other’s feelings. Throughout the book Atticus is show as a kind man who really cares for the people of Maycomb County. However, he still demands justice when someone is treated unfairly, even for the likes of a black man. Atticus Finch is very influential and yet still listens to what needs to be heard. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee portrays Atticus as a man who values justice, wiseness and fair-mindedness.

Atticus demonstrates his courage the most when he defends Tom Robinson. He knows that it is near impossible to win, but he does it anyways because it's the right thing to do “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (101). Furthermore, Atticus puts himself in danger to protect Tom Robinson from the Old Sarum bunch and their attempt to lynch him “I don’t look for any trouble, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be any….” (194). Lastly, after the trial finished, Bob Ewell stopped Atticus at the post office corner and spat on his face looking for a fight. Atticus only answered with “No, too old” (291), but the real rationale behind this is he wanted to save Mayella Ewell from another beating because Bob would need to take it on someone and Atticus as the amazing man he is, chooses himself. In conclusion, Atticus is undoubtedly a very courageous man who always goes with what he believes is right and not what others say is right.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book with many themes, symbolism and adventures. It gives us the point of view of a little girl named Scout Finch in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1903s and shows racial prosecution of a black man named Tom Robinson. This little girl’s father decides to defend this man and despite drawbacks for his own family, Atticus Finch was wise to defend Tom Robinson for many reasons.

He balances life well, and continues to be different. "There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life” (295). This quote from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows that Atticus is a man of equality. He does not know why the court chooses the white race over the black race. People are so rude to Atticus just because he is defending a black male. During this time especially, it was not common for a black man to win against a white man, so this was looked at as wrongdoing. However, Atticus believes that each race should be treated with the same amount of

When an event goes wrong, he does not get easily angered. In the novel, Scout and Jem frequently get into trouble. When this happens, Atticus does not yell or get livid, he only tells them right from wrong. One example where his kids get in trouble is when they sneak into the courtroom to watch the trial of their dad arguing to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence. Atticus did not want his children there because he wanted them sheltered from the horrible racism they would experience. When Atticus found out they were in the courtroom, he did not snap at them or yell at them, instead, he told them calmly to go home, eat supper, then they could come back and watch the rest of the trial. Atticus thought the trial would be over by the time they were done eating, but it was not and he still let them stay because they wanted to see the outcome. Another example of the readers seeing Atticus with a cool-temper is the incident of Bob Ewell spitting on Atticus’ face. Mr. Ewell spit on his face because Atticus made a fool out of him in court. When this happened, Atticus did not yell at him or start a fight, he simply wipes the

testing his respect, courage, and mental strength to their fullest extent. Atticus is widowed and is forced to raise his two kids, Scout and Jem, with the help of Calpurnia, the maid of the household. Atticus chooses to take the court case of Mr.Tom Robinson, a colored man, in Maycomb County. Maycomb happens to be a very prejudice town set during the Great Depression. He takes this case knowing that most of the towns people will resent him for it. This is where Atticus has to choose between what he thinks is right and what others will think of him throughout different situations in the book.

There are many people in the world with a good character. Atticus Finch, in the realistic fiction book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of those people. In Maycomb, Alabama, Atticus was a well respected lawyer and father of two children. The book shows Atticus's good character when he defends Tom Robinson, a black man, against the charge of raping a white, teenage girl. In the time the novel took place, it was a time of racial discrimination towards the black people.

Atticus is very courageous. At first he told Scout that he had to defend Tom Robinson. Scout asked why and he responded, "For a number of reasons.. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again" (Lee 100). Along with that he knew he had to be courageous in addition to still defending Tom Robinson knowing that he would most likely lose the trial, because he still defended Tom knowing the odds were not in his favor. Another way he

Although there are many people looking down at Atticus for sticking up for a man of color he stays courageous through the whole trial. He knows that he isn’t going to win but he’s going to do all that he is capable of. Atticus knows that if he doesn’t stick up for what he believes is right and instead listens to what society wants him to be doing he can’t represent anyone, nor does he feel like he deserves to represent people. “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (100). Atticus stands by his motives and doesn’t change or have different beliefs in his house than his beliefs out on the streets.