Essay on 'to Kill a Mockingbird'

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is not the typical Maycomb citizen. He is like no other. He really makes an effort to be the best role model for his children by showing us his natural courage, tolerance and fairness to all other citizens of Maycomb. Atticus seems to appear as the biggest hero of the book because he stands up for what he believes in and what he thinks is right, he has copious amounts of respect for others and himself and is a symbol of reason and justice.
Atticus Finch does not follow, obey or conform to any other character in the book. He shows integrity and morality throughout the book. Atticus Finch is a man of many principals and does not conform to other people’s racist comments or wrong doings. Atticus was willing to go against the majority of the town of Maycomb in an effort to do what he believed and which he also believed to be the correct ethical choice which made him an exceedingly noble character of this book and an excellent role model for his children and for all the other characters of the book as well. Atticus Finch believes in individual conscience.
Atticus Finch is a very respectful and loyal man. He shows he respect in many ways. Both Scout and Jem never call Atticus dad, he is always Atticus. Whist he definitely puts his foot down on both the children he also treats the kids with respect because he doesn’t degrade his use of language towards them to what he thinks is their level of intelligence be his is willing to explain to them patiently whenever they have questions. This is just one form of how Atticus shows his respect during the course of the book. When Scout doesn’t what to go back to school, Atticus doesn’t just tell her that she has to go back to school but instead he listens to Scout’s explanation of why she is so upset and tries to make her see her teacher’s side of things before coming up with a compromise that makes Scout happier thus another sign of respect towards one of his children.
‘First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, 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 until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’, this was a quote said by Atticus. He wanted to show his children what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. When a dog with rabies comes around to their street, the sheriff throws the gun at Atticus. He hits the dog in one shot and Scout is amazed because he didn’t think Atticus was capable of doing so. Scout believes that his shooting is a talent and it took courage but then Atticus tries to teach them both what real courage is.
Furthermore, Atticus Finch shows a higher form of courage when he defends Tom Robinson. Atticus believes that it is a sin to kill and mockingbird. Mockingbirds are symbols of innocence. Tom Robinson was carried out as a ‘mockingbird’ character in this book. He is a black man with a good reputation but he is accused of raping a white girl. The majority of the court room is against Tom Robinson just because he is black. Despite Atticus’s skilled and heated defence, the jury finds Tom Robinson guilty. By doing this he faces the risk of losing respect of the people associated with him. The verdict forces Scout and Jem to confront the fact that the principles Atticus has taught them cannot always be reconciled with the realism of the world and the evils of human nature.
Atticus is a symbol of reason and justice because he went against prejudice to do the right thing. He believed in a fair court system and he wanted everyone to be treated equally.
Atticus Finch is a character that shows justice and fairness right the way through the book. He is outgoing as he is an individual whilst others follow each other’s actions and words. He is open minded whist others and prejudge. ‘So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process,” he says to Jem, referring to Maycomb’s conformist disease. Atticus Finch is a role model not only for the unfair and unjust society of Maycomb, but for all societies in all times.
By Cheryce Mayo Simmons.