To Kill a Mockingbird-Atticus' Influences

f. Atticus feels that the adults have made the world the way that it is and the children have to learn to live in that world. They can’t hide from it and need to be exposed to it as early as possible.

A potential flaw Atticus had as a parent was that he over trusted devious people and was perhaps a little careless and under cautious. The best example of this was when he allowed Jem and Scout to go to the Halloween party alone. Even though Atticus thought Bob Ewell was not a threat, he still should have attended the party with the children just to be safe or even send them with Aunt Alexandria. Even if Bob Ewell was not going to harm the children, there would still be a chance that Bob Ewell would show up and verbally harass the children, so it was rather careless on Atticus’ part to let the children go alone. After Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout, Atticus admitted to Heck Tate that he thought Bob Ewell’s threats were empty

No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change...it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning’”(Lee 101). Atticus believes in pacifism and teaches his kids to behave the same way. He thinks Scout has the potential to be an intelligent child, but she needs to avoid physical confrontation and instead focus on using her mind to learn and mature. When Bob Ewell spits in his face, Atticus encourages his children to put themselves in the shoes of the Ewell family, saying, “‘If spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there’”(Lee 292, 293). This exemplifies Atticus’ lessons on empathy, teaching his children that “‘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 39). By encouraging his children to resist fighting and instead use their sense to feel for others, Atticus teaches lessons on empathy and pacifism. In addition, Atticus’ teachings also include racism and morals.

Atticus's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom Robinson with determination, giving it all he has. He shows this when he says, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win." (pg.82). He says this to Scout after she comes home from school angry at Cecil Jacobs for making fun of Atticus in the schoolyard. Atticus tells her to fight with her head instead of her fists. He wants the people of Maycomb to hear the truth about Tom, "That boy may go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told." (pg.159). Atticus is putting everything a man holds dear, dignity, respect, honor and status, on the line to protect Tom. He later shows more bravery when he goes to the jailhouse to

People have different opinions and views on subjects and we won’t always agree with them or understand why they think that way. “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.” I like that Atticus is teaching his kids valuable lessons. We don’t know what makes someone act or dress or do the things they do, so we make assumptions and conclusions in order to “understand”, but the only true way of understanding someone is through sympathy and compassion.

Atticus’s compassion is shown throughout the book on how he detests racism and his stand against it. In many of the chapters you see Atticus’s children question their fathers view on the equality of all mankind.

It is rare to find a courageous and sympathetic person who is willing to stand against social injustice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus represents this rare hero. He is a lawyer and a single parent to his kids Jem and Scout. He understands that society should not be black and white and helps those who are mistreated. Not only does Atticus demonstrate acts of courage and empathy, he is also an excellent role model to his children. Atticus represents the qualities of a true hero by exposing injustice, and through courageous and sympathetic activities, teaching his children moral values.

Many people have some role model in their life. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a lawyer named Atticus Finch displays a true role model to all in Macomb County. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee portrays the real role model that all should recognize and desire to follow. When in the courtroom or with his family, Atticus Finch resembles a good-natured man by heart. With his self-sacrificing nature, Atticus shows Macomb county residents what it means to give wholeheartedly to others despite who they are. Along with his self-sacrificing nature, Atticus displays a peaceful attitude despite any difficult circumstances he may face in his daily life. Finally, Atticus shows Macomb county how to think with a positive mindset. Weather

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)

Instead of allowing the overwhelming hypocrisy and hatred of the town to get in his way, Atticus

Some have more courage than others do. In the book To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Atticus, a father of two and lawyer, stands up for a colored man in a court of law. At first, the readers just see him as a studious, quiet father, who has unique parenting strategies, but as the book progresses, Atticus's character grows. His courage, honesty, boldness, and scruples shape his life. In the trial with Tom Robinson, this shows especially. His determination to create the best case he can even though the odds are stacked against him, show the perseverance and strength of mind he has. Throughout To Kill a Mocking Bird Atticus's character grows as a genuine, brave, godly, man.

He then holds them responsible for what they do and say. Although his ways are different than the societal standards, Atticus’s involvement with his children is effective for discipline. He does not always discipline them in the same manner, but does so in ways fitting to the circumstances. Atticus chooses particular words to express exactly what his children need to hear in order to mend their ways. Often, he simply expresses his disappointment. Sometimes, he uses firm reprimanding. Once, we see Atticus use his keen intellect, employing what Scout calls “the oldest lawyer’s trick on record” (50) so that Jem admits to “putting [Mr. Radley’s] life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood” (49), as Atticus describes it. Scout’s father teaches by example countless times when he reminds her that “it ain’t time to worry yet” (70), even when a fire threatens to sweep away all of their belongings. In addition to his honest discussions with Scout and Jem, Atticus gives them many profound lessons through his intentional interactions with others.

Atticus is the town’s most respected lawyer. He is not wealthy, but he is well off in the community and is very kind towards everyone. As a single parent, he faces the world, raising his two children with his maid, Calpurnia, who experiences better conditions and responsibilities than other African Americans of her time, due to Atticus’ beliefs. He has a reputation for being an open-minded, fair man, and a unique personality that is overflowing with honesty. He has been assigned a case of defending a black man who is apparently accused of rape. Now Atticus is both loved and unloved by the townspeople. Since they live in the South during the 1930’s, Atticus gives a lot of advice to his children, Scout and Jem. Atticus tells Scout and Jem that they should not say anything about a person especially when they do not know that person. Atticus describes what he means in a quote “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around it”(Lee 39). Atticus defends a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a girl. Atticus has the confidence and the courage to defend Tom and prove that he is innocent. Scout does not believe that her father is nice enough or has the courage to defend Tom. Atticus proves that

Importance of education is another theme that is explored in the novel. Atticus is characterised as education. The point being made is that to be educated is that if you are educated then you can make you’re own moral decisions that are not as biased. In the novel this is portrayed by the white people of the town as they have always been told that black people are bad people no matter what, but

In recent literary history, perhaps the strongest contender for the one character that has had the greatest influence on a generation is Atticus Finch, father of the protagonist in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Both as a father, and a lawyer, he has served, and still today serves as a pillar of righteousness and morality. The ability for his morality to translate to all people, across ages, races, and cultures, is a feat preformed by Harper Lee in her masterpiece, “To Kill A Mockingbird”. She establishes Atticus Finch as the moral center of the novel by juxtaposing his actions and the relationships with those of the majority of Maycomb. In doing so, she has made him a cultural, and oftentimes personal icon.