To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch Hero Essay
Atticus Finch, American Hero
Whether in the form of a living person or a fictional character from a book or movie, heroes are prevalent in everyone's life. The typical view of a hero is someone who fights crime or saves people from mortal peril, but the true definition of a hero is a person of distinguished courage admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is the true definition of hero. Although he wasn't seen as a hero during the time the book took place, Atticus Finch is considered to be one of the most heroic figures in American Literature because of his courage, intelligence, and sense of what is right and what is wrong. In the novel, Atticus' courage is tested to the extreme. There is one question that is persistent throughout the trial part of the novel, and that is whether or not Atticus would have defended Tom had he not been appointed to do so by Judge Taylor. This question is answered by Atticus' response to Scout's questioning as to why he chose to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus responds to Scout's questions with,” For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again. Simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one's mine, I guess.” This could lead you to believe that even if he hadn't been appointed to represent Tom in court, he most likely would have anyways, because of his belief that everyone should be treated equally. Atticus goes through a personal struggle in To Kill A Mockingbird where he battles with himself over doing what he knows is the ethical thing to do, and what is the easiest thing to do. In the end, he decides to stick to his morals and defends Tom Robinson in court, which proves his level of courage is much higher compared to anyone else's
Whether in the form of a living person or a fictional character from a book or movie, heroes are prevalent in everyone's life. The typical view of a hero is someone who fights crime or saves people from mortal peril, but the true definition of a hero is a person of distinguished courage admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is the true definition of hero. Although he wasn't seen as a hero during the time the book took place, Atticus Finch is considered to be one of the most heroic figures in American Literature because of his courage, intelligence, and sense of what is right and what is wrong. In the novel, Atticus' courage is tested to the extreme. There is one question that is persistent throughout the trial part of the novel, and that is whether or not Atticus would have defended Tom had he not been appointed to do so by Judge Taylor. This question is answered by Atticus' response to Scout's questioning as to why he chose to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus responds to Scout's questions with,” For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again. Simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one's mine, I guess.” This could lead you to believe that even if he hadn't been appointed to represent Tom in court, he most likely would have anyways, because of his belief that everyone should be treated equally. Atticus goes through a personal struggle in To Kill A Mockingbird where he battles with himself over doing what he knows is the ethical thing to do, and what is the easiest thing to do. In the end, he decides to stick to his morals and defends Tom Robinson in court, which proves his level of courage is much higher compared to anyone else's