To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee takes you back to the 1930’s in the Deep South where color of skin mattered and when a white man’s word went against the word of a Negro, prejudice wins. Harper Lee articulately created a portrayal of a small town where nobody was exactly good or evil. Atticus shows us what real courage and goodness looks like. His character’s core values remain the same during the whole story and are unchanged throughout the entire book. When an innocent black man is accused of attacking a white woman, Atticus Finch becomes his court appointed defense attorney. Finch defends Tom Robison as he should, as a man, any man, regardless of color. “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience-Scout; I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.” Lee’s creation of Atticus Finch as, a lawyer, committed father, and respected man; makes him the mirror image of a protagonist. Atticus is the protagonist because, he stayed committed to his client and kept on trying to win the man his freedom even when Atticus knew he stood no chance because of racial beliefs. From the beginning Atticus knew that Tom had little hope, because of racism, prejudice, and social beliefs; Finch fought to win regardless. He held his head high even when he had “friends” calling him crude names to his children’s faces and when his family disapproved of his actions. “When the three of us came to the house, Atticus would sweep off his hat, wave gallantly to her and say, “Good evening, Mrs. Dubose! You look like a picture this evening.” Atticus lives his life by example to show his children to be responsible, free thinking adults, respectful of everyone. Regardless how awful the thing Mrs. Dubose would say to Jem and Scout about Atticus, Atticus would treat her like one of the finer people of the world. Atticus was a static character in that he remained the same throughout the whole book. He stuck to his beliefs. Never did you find Atticus doing something he had just told Scout and Jem not to. He taught them not to hate anybody, and “courage isn’t a man with a gun!” Atticus believed courage is much more- it’s a man who tries his hardest at something even when the odds are against him. He showed them right from wrong, and almost always made them think about what the other person’s point of view could be. Atticus's voice was stern when addressing his sister who told Atticus to fire their long time maid, Calpurnia: "Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn't have got along without her all these years. She's a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are." Atticus was a man who would always tolerate somebody up to a certain point and pick his battles wisely. He was a man of patience and would see the goodness of people regardless of their skin color. Atticus was a round character showing us he was the type of man willing to stand up for what he believed was right in the world, even if no one else thought so. He remained this way throughout the complete book, and he recognized his values and he held to them.

“In the light from its bare bulb, Atticus was sitting propped against the front door.” Atticus believes a Maycomb mob is going to show up and lynch Tom Robinson. This scene is important because Atticus chooses to go to the jail to stop the attack to protect his client; I think this reflects a lot of who Atticus really is. Atticus believes everyone deserves a fair trial no matter which stereotype he’s been given. His willingness to protect Tom Robinson and stand up for him in this case, is yet another example of Atticus having a lot of inner courage and respect for other people, regardless of their color; this transmits to other events in the book in this way. Atticus on multiple occasions can be shown standing up for people and anything when he knows it’s the right thing to do.
Atticus Finch showed us he is a man of integrity, and his actions backed that up. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus proves that you can be a respected man while staying true to your own values. Harper Lee showed us how a static character can be a good thing. Even when Atticus knew he stood no chance to win, he fought anyway. Atticus believed what he was doing was right, whether society agreed with him or not. In Atticus Finch, Harper created a well-rounded character by showing us how his actions and thoughts came together. When Atticus was nice to Mrs. Dubose, we understood why he wasn’t mean to her back. He wanted to show his children that even when somebody is ugly to you, you don’t respond back with anger. In all situations, Atticus proved to be the protagonist by always taking the high road. Harper Lee intelligently used Atticus Finch to show us to respect yourself and your beliefs regardless what society tell us what we should respect.