Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

To Kill A Mockingbird

Good Essays
548 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill A Mockingbird
Atticus Finch is a famous Maycomb lawyer as well as the father of the protagonist of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Jean Louise.
Atticus Finch is a well-known white Maycomb attorney as well as the father of the book's protagonist, Scout, and her brother Jem. He is a wise and caring father. Atticus is nearly fifty. His children call him "Atticus" rather than "Dad". He was once known as "One-Shot Finch" because of his skill with rifles (shown when killing a rabid dog). Atticus demonstrates great character throughout the book and strives to set a good example for his children, teaching Jem and Scout to treat everyone equally. Atticus' beliefs and strong moral compass lead him to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, from baseless charges of rape. This was an unpopular decision among many Maycomb residents. However, Atticus feels that his refusing to take up the case would make him undeserving of others' respect.
As one of the most prominent citizens in Maycomb during the Great Depression, Atticus is relatively well off in a time of widespread poverty. Because of his penetrating intelligence, calm wisdom, and exemplary behavior, Atticus is respected by everyone, including the very poor. He functions as the moral backbone of Maycomb, a person to whom others turn in times of doubt and trouble. But the conscience that makes him so admirable ultimately causes his falling out with the people of Maycomb. Unable to abide the town’s comfortable ingrained racial prejudice, he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man. Atticus’s action makes him the object of scorn in Maycomb, but he is simply too impressive a figure to be scorned for long. After the trial, he seems destined to be held in the same high regard as before.
Atticus practices the ethic of sympathy and understanding that he preaches to Scout and Jem and never holds a grudge against the people of Maycomb. Despite their callous indifference to racial inequality, Atticus sees much to admire in them. He recognizes that people have both good and bad qualities, and he is determined to admire the good while understanding and forgiving the bad. Atticus passes this great moral lesson on to Scout—this perspective protects the innocent from being destroyed by contact with evil.
Ironically, though Atticus is a heroic figure in the novel and a respected man in Maycomb, neither Jem nor Scout consciously idolizes him at the beginning of the novel. Both are embarrassed that he is older than other fathers and that he doesn’t hunt or fish. But Atticus’s wise parenting, which he sums up in Chapter 30 by saying, “Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him,” ultimately wins their respect. By the end of the novel, Jem, in particular, is fiercely devoted to Atticus (Scout, still a little girl, loves him uncritically). Though his children’s attitude toward him evolves, Atticus is characterized throughout the book by his absolute consistency. He stands rigidly committed to justice and thoughtfully willing to view matters from the perspectives of others. He does not develop in the novel but retains these qualities in equal measure, making him the novel’s moral guide and voice of conscience.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Based on perspective, Atticus Finch considers that Maycomb is a racist, yet an atrocious town; due to its racialist/intolerant behaviors that the citizens practice towards different skin complexions. For instance, an example of this bigotry can be demonstrated by Tom Robinson’s case; as this was clearly shown/said throughout the arguments during the court trial. As a single parent and a lawyer, Atticus Finch receives a lot of negative attention in Maycomb for representing Tom Robinson's case; which also, happens to have a negative impact on his children. They are talked about, made fun of, and their lives are even threatened at some points.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Stereotypes

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the single father of Jeremy "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus Finch is a good father. He is a perfect example of a father who is an honest man, a father who is determined to teach his children the value of respecting all people,…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch has multiple conflicts in To Kill a Mockingbird. But the major one was him defending Tom Robinson. The judge specifically chose Atticus because he knows he isn’t prejudice, and nobody else would be willing to defend Tom in the trial. He was a bit hesitant to accept the task at first, be he knew he had to do it whether people would hate him or not. Atticus has a lot going on in his life. He’s attempting to defend Tom and try to win the trial, but at the same time he’s raising Jem and Scout. He decides he can’t do it alone se he…

    • 635 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch is a lawyer and Scout and Jem’s father. “... when my father, Atticus Finch, went to Montgomery to read law” (Lee 5). When the book said “To read law,” that means he is going to law school. He is a widower as Scout told us on page seven. “Our mother died when I was two,” is what she said exactly. He wears glasses, but they sometimes get in his way. “Atticus pushed his glasses…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people throughout Maycomb see Atticus’s integrity and respect. Miss Maudie explains to scout and Jem how “Atticus Finch is the same behind the doors of his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee 52). Maudie views Atticus as a man with…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Bravery

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Atticus conveyed tons of self-control in the book. He was defending a black man named Tom Robinson. Most of the people in Maycomb changed their perception of Atticus because he was actually trying to defend Tom. Fellow citizens give him a really hard time about it and they talk about his behind his back. For…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch, a character in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee questions the values of society. Atticus expresses the right for equality among all races. Atticus is the lawyer for Tom Robinson and this story focuses on the conflict within the trial he defends in order to support equality.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem, and is the lawyer who took on the case of Tom Robinson in the rising action of the novel, a man on trial simply because of his…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Atticus Finch

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Atticus Finch, a respected lawyer and the main character's father, is an exceptionally likeable character in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He will always stand up for what is right, which is an important factor in his representation of justice.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Atticus Finch is one of the major characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird written in 1960. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, the representative of Alabama in the State Legislator and the father of Scout and Jeremy Finch. The major themes and ideas Lee emphasizes in the novel are social inequality and intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery are represented in one way or another through this character. Atticus Finch is a man of principles who is consistent in his views and deeds throughout the novel. He has an arguable type of personality because many people back then would call him ignorant, but he still fought against his doubters. Although he is criticized and mocked by many characters in the novel for his tolerant attitude…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus is a central character in the novel. In 2003, Atticus Finch, as portrayed by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation, was voted by the American Film Institute to be the greatest hero in American film.[1]…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most unforgettable books written is Harper lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Inside the book remains a man named Atticus Finch, a lawyer who lives in the southern county of Maycomb. Unfortunately, his wife passed away due to a sudden heart attack two years after the birth of their daughter, Jean Louise. Consequently, Atticus raised their two children, Jeremy Atticus known as Jem, and Jean, known as Scout. Ten year old Jem, who loves to explore and Six year old Scout, who solves problems with her fists, but learns to act more mature than other people. Nevertheless, Atticus shows the characteristics of a good father and a fair man. Through raising his children, Atticus shows his morality, empathy, and forgiveness.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    AttAtticus Finch is one of the most steadfastly honest and moral characters in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and his character remains, for the most part, unchanged throughout "To Kill a Mockingbird". Atticus Finch begins as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers and even though he loses some ground during the trial, by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird he is still looked up to, both by his children and the community as whole—with all class levels included. As a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch represents everything that someone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and looks at every situation from a multitude of angles. Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (87) and this could also be said of how he behaves in the courtroom. He is a skilled lawyer and without making outright accusations in a harsh tone he effectively points out that Bob Ewell is lying. Atticus Finch, is able to gracefully point out to the jury that there although there probably are a few black men who are capable of crimes, “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men”. His understanding of equality and his colorblindness allow him to see clearly that the case has been motivated by racial hatred and he is strong enough, both as a person and a lawyer, to see that this is a wrong that needs to be discussed and pointed out to the community. In general in To Kill a Mockingbird, as a lawyer, he is much as he is as a father—focused on justice, equality, and imbued with the special talent of seeing a number of angles to every situation. As a parent in To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus, although older than most of the other children’s parents, is very careful to offer his children careful moral guidance. Instead of trying to force principles of politeness or societal norms on them, however, he is careful to provide his instruction in a way that makes the…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Speech

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird is a person who will stand up for and to anybody. He is a lawyer who stood up for a black man in the time where there was a lot of segregation. The black man’s name was Tom Robinson. He was said that he had raped a white woman, when the truth was that he had nothing to do with it, he was guilty. Her name was Mayella Ewell. She said that he had raped her, and beat her. The…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tom Robinson Trial

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Tom Robinson trial is an important asset in To Kill a Mockingbird which emphasizes the racial injustices in court. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in Maycomb county and the father of the lead protagonist, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Atticus agreed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays