In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is the moral compass. Atticus is a lawyer and also a father of two children, Scout and Jem. A moral compass is a person who knows right from wrong. There are many examples why Mr. Finch is the moral compass of this story. He is the moral compass because he guides his children in the right direction. He doesn't want his children to see racism, he wants them to believe that all men are equal. Atticus is portrayed as the moral compass in many ways. For example, he tells Jem a very good quote. “ You just hold your head high and be a gentleman”(Lee 137). Mrs. Dubose is a mean lady and says very nasty remarks about people. He is stating that you shouldn’t
a. Atticus is a wise man, committed to justice and equality, and his parenting style is based on fostering these virtues in his children—he even encourages Jem and Scout to call him “Atticus” so that they can interact on terms as equal as possible. Throughout the novel, Atticus works to develop Scout’s and Jem’s respective consciences, through both teaching, as when he tells Scout to put herself in a person’s shoes before she judges them.
One character quality that describes Atticus is morally upstanding. He is consistently considerate of other people’s feelings while remaining professional. When Scout asks Atticus if he is a nigger-lover, he says he certainly is and he does his best
Atticus is one of the major characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, and he appears in almost every chapter. Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout and appears in every chapter. While some might think Atticus is not a proper role model, he is a good role model because he treats everybody with respect, he sees other races as equal, and he fights for equality.
Atticus and his children both had to deal with the adversity against them because of the communities differences in opinion. They kept their integrity through it all with Jem and scout having their father’s moral advice and support to help them. Though many succumb to the pressures put on us, there are also many Atticus’s out there that have a moral and ethical conscience backing them up. They become a role model that breeds integrity through their moral practices. “Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” (Lee, pg.108)
In the novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' two important characters influence each other significantly over the course of the book. The book is set in the 1930's in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The novel is centered around a young girl named Scout and the events that developed her into a mature you lady. Scout develops greatly alongside her father, Atticus, who teaches Scout, along with her friends and family that life can teach you a lot of lessons, if you know where to look. Scout changes from a naïve, impulsive young girl to a mature young lady that ,with her new understanding of the world, influences the those around her. Atticus has learnt that humans are not faultless and not all of them share his moral values.
In Atticus’s closing argument, he uses ethos, the appeal to one’s ethics, to establish credibility. He demonstrates ethos when he tells the jury, “I am no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts…” (Paragraph 12). Idealism is often influenced by one’s emotions; therefore, by claiming he’s not an idealist, he conveys to the jury that his position on the case was not biased by his own emotions. As a result, Atticus effectively makes him seem more trusting and fair to the jury. Atticus also shows ethos, when he refers to Mayella and tells the jury, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state…” (Paragraph 3). Atticus expresses his sympathy for her and her predicament. Additionally, Atticus’s sympathetic
Atticus is the most compassionate character in To Kill a Mockingbird with beliefs of feeling empathy for everyone and passed down his empathy to his children. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout and Jem learn empathy from Atticus’s compassionate actions and words towards others
During Atticus’s cross-examination with Mayella Ewell, the reader can infer that she is lying and trying to hide the truth. Right when Mr. Gilmer started to question her, she started “burst[ing] into tears.” After she dried her tears, “she twisted her handkerchief into a sweaty rope” and when it was opened, it was “a mass of creases” from her sweaty hands. (pg. 241) A person who is not truthful often sweats and fidgets. Mayella twisted her handkerchief (which is a form of fidgeting) and when she opened it, it was crumpled when she opened it from the sweat from her hands. Later, when Atticus questions her if she loves her father, it is said that Mr. Ewell was “sitting with his chair tipped against the railing,” (pg.245) in other words, leaning forward as if to make sure that Mayella would not give any of the truth away.
First of all, Atticus Finch can be evaluated as compassionate. This is first proven because he takes the case of Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man, so many have chosen to look down upon Atticus because of his decision to support him. One example of this is shown when Mrs. Dubose yells, “’Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for’” (Lee 135).
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.
Many people are responsible, tolerant, and have strong courage all at once. Atticus is one of those as seen in the fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the novel Atticus plays a major role as a father, lawyer, and neighbor in Maycomb, Alabama. Over the course of the story, Atticus uses these characteristics to demonstrate the person he really is. Through his actions he impacts many others lives while fighting for his reputation. Atticus is shown to be a responsible, tolerant, and courageous man.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (New American Bible Colossians 3:12). In the story, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus was chosen to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. As stated above, God has told all of us to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. In the story, Atticus took on the challenge of being compassionate in his life. Atticus showed compassion because he stood up for Tom Robinson, he did not fight back against anyone who disagreed with him, and he comforted his children during the hard times.
First, Atticus Finch is a genuine, moral literary character because he knows that you must understand a person and know them before you can judge them. "Scout," said Atticus, "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things... it's not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down—well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you'll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn't let you down." (ch.11 pg.120) Atticus tries to explain to Scout the importance of understanding someone and getting to know the person before she does things. Atticus can take time to know a person, watching their actions, and seeing how they act. He then understands them and their position better than before, which can help him to better comprehend and
In actuality, decisions that are chosen to be made cannot be entirely labeled as “right” or “wrong”. To every decision, there will always be advantages and disadvantages, but being labeled right or wrong can always be argued. In the story “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, a colored man named Tom Robinson was framed for raping a Caucasian woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus accepted to take Robinson’s case and defend him in court. There is controversy surrounding Atticus’s decision to accept the case, which affects him both personally and the society. However, it is believed that it was wrong for Atticus to accept the case of Tom Robinson, since Robinson’s verdict would have been guilty regardless, it caused Atticus’s children’s life to be in danger, and it caused people
To Kill a Mockingbird has extremely insightful, and influential characters. One of the most prominent being Atticus. Atticus acts as Scouts, and the reader's conscience in the book. “Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-” (pg. 39)