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Analysis Of Jem's Father In To Kill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee

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In the Finch household the normal family structure of referring to the father figure as Dad, Daddy, Papa, etc. is completely abolished. Jem’s sister Scout shows this through her description of her Dad after a fight when she says, “We were far too old to settle an argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus. Our father said we were both right” (Lee,3). The children’s peculiar way of referring to their father by his first name rather than the normal phrases children call their father shows the respect they had earned through the way they were brought up. Atticus allows his children to refer to him by his first name as a technique of showing equality and respect. Thus, his ultimate lesson was to uses these actions to try to persuade the children to apply these beliefs to treat people with respect and equality outside the Finches …show more content…

Atticus treats his children the same as he does in “his house as he is on the public streets” (61). An example of this is when Jem’s sister disobeyes the regulation of not fighting others who do not agree with what Atticus stands for, he does not severely punish her. This is how he treats his children as he uses respect over physical force to teach his children right from wrong. This was different than Jem’s Uncle Jack who used physical force to teach lessons to children. As Uncle Jack shows when talking about Jem’s sister who was in trouble by stating “Atticus, you’ve never laid a hand on her” then Atticus states, “I admit that… Jack she minds me as well as she can. Doesn’t come up to scratch half the time, but she tries” (116). Thus, by not physically punishing his kids, it shows the respect that Atticus treats his children with and this technique helps his children understand the respect they must have for others. Atticus treats everybody as he treats his children, with equality and respect without a care that he is known as a person who favors the blacks and is respectful to

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He gives clear, strong examples of what is right and what is not. Atticus not only wants to instill good habits and values into his children, but he also wants them to learn good morals and ethics by supporting them and installing messages that will help them later on in life. In conclusion, this all illustrates and supports the fact that Atticus is a noble parent, who prioritizes his children’s safety and is also a positive role model to his

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One of the most important lessons Atticus teaches his children is that it is not moral to take advantage of someone because of their race. He tells them, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter

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When it comes to father roles in ‘to kill a mockingbird’, the most prominent example is the Atticus finch. In the book, Atticus is a committed father and we can see that throughout the book with how his kids respond to certain situations. Another reason I chose this topic is because we can see the variety of ages, genders and living situations in this book and how fathers impact the development of these characters. We see the contrast in parenting as well, with Bob Ewell and Atticus Finch. Fathers in theory are supposed to provide guidance and love, with or without those factors we see impacting on their community.

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(Lee 124) Atticus points out how terrible certain terms are as well as the people that use them. This encourages the children not to use terms like this so as not to become one of these terrible people. The children learn from him that despite how unpopular it is to love and/or support someone or a group of people, you should love everyone despite race or rank. He explains, “I do my best to love everybody...

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Addie Green Mr Storm Pre-AP English l April 29 2023 Jems Journey in To Kill A Mockingbird “His eyebrows were becoming heavier, and i noticed a new slimness about his body. He was growing taller,” (Lee 257). Physically and Mentally Jem has grown from a young boy into a young man, and it was noticed by many. The Characters in this story have shown it through words or actions and have treated Jem more maturely throughout the course of the novel.

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Personal values and morals are instilled into children by their parents . Jem and Scout Finch, characters from Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, are open minded, educated, young children that have a father named Atticus Finch who tries to teach his children to have sound morals and personal values . The children have not been sheltered from life's hardships due to their father Atticus's views on parenting instead they have learned right from wrong. Atticus Finch believes that not sheltering his kids from the world allows them to form strong morals and values. Atticus Finch does what he believes will help make his children into strong citizens with outstanding values and morals.

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Deriving from the Golden Rule, Atticus thinks that you should treat people the way you want to be treated because it is only fair to you and others. Atticus wants people to understand others and act how they would want to be treated. “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” (39). Treating people fairly and using Empathy are really important to Atticus. Even though some people are lower status than Atticus he still talks to the normally and formally because if he were in their place that is how he would want others to talk to him if he was in their position.

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He is a character that finds just the right words to advise to his children just as any great parent would do. These parents make their children’s problems a priority to fix and make sure that these issues are solved right away as if they were their own problems. This is exactly what Atticus does in the book as a very successful and smart parent. For example, when Scout runs into a problem, to solve the problem she always thinks that violence is the answer, however this is not the way Atticus thought that she should approach every situation. He told Scout that she will never understand a person fully or even get along with that person until she considers things in their point of view or in other words walk in their shoes.

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Atticus doesn’t allow poor behavior and disrespectfulness from the children. For example he doesn’t allow Jem and Scout to mess with Boo Radley. Jem, Scout, and Dill were always fascinated with Boo Radley. Due to this fascination they would always try to get a look at him or relay him a message. Atticus realized when he found out that behavior of that nature was unacceptable and ordered for the kids to not disturb them.

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The way he handles his kids is his own business because it works for him. He teaches his kids the right things to do, how to treat people, and to look at everyone the same, and he expects them to do so. Jem and Scout are not perfect; however, they respect their father. On the other hand, Atticus is doing better than his sister, Aunt Alexandra. Francis was a racist, mean, little girl that only cares about her last name.

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“..if I didn’t (defend Tom Robinson) I couldn’t hold up my own head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (86) As a father, Atticus has a responsibility to his children and setting the best example to his children, especially during a difficult situation, such as defending an African-American man accused of rape in a small town trial. “I’d rather you (Jem and Scout) shot tin cans in the backyard…” (103) Even a small warning such as that one shows that he cares for his children and is responsible for their safety, especially when they’re armed with rifles.

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Atticus tries his best to keep his kids out of his business mentality. Like in chapter 15, “I’m going out for a while, you folks’ll be in bed by the time I come back, so I’ll say goodnight now” (Lee 198). This direct quote displays, how willing he is to take his work out of the kids’ way of intervening. No matter how

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Atticus’s parenting style has a moral education. Atticus keeps no secrets from his children so that they feel the same as everyone else and not feel excluded. Atticus’s children are taught to follow the law, making them upstanding citizens. Bob has a different type of parenting style from Atticus. Bob instills fear in his daughter with abuse and violence.

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A father plays a crucial role in the life of his children. One modern adage expresses a touching thought about fathers, stating, “Dad, a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love.” This quote embraces the relationship of Atticus Finch and his children, Jem and Scout, in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Jeremy, the older of the Finch kids, holds his father in extremely high regard and depends on his guidance in life while his younger sister, Jean Louise, trusts Atticus whole-heartedly and adores him despite her occasional indifference toward him. During the three years in which To Kill a Mockingbird takes place, the author grants a glimpse of Atticus’ method of upbringing.

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Atticus’s parenting of Scout and Jem is very unique in that he treats his children as equal human beings, answering any question they have, and giving them advice when they need it. He uses all these things as an opportunity to pass his values on to Scout and Jem. He is happy to help people see a situation in a new way. Atticus uses this with the entire city of Maycomb as well as with his children. Furthermore, for all of his maturity towards Jem and Scout, he realizes that they are children and that they will make mistakes, they will also make different assumptions about different things.

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