Archetypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Unlikely heroes, what comes to mind, maybe Sully from Monsters Inc, Carl Fredricksen from Up, or even Lightning McQueen from Cars. Flashback fifty years and that's when Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, showed what that archetype is really about. Throughout the book his son, Jem, and daughter, Scout, learn important lessons about racism, courage, and how to treat people. Atticus defends a Negro throughout the course of the book which in result, shocks the rest of the Maycomb community. This is quite a surprise because To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the deep south during the great depression. Throughout the story, Atticus Finch becomes an unlikely hero through his fairness, compassion, and his intelligence.

Throughout the course of the book, Atticus proves not only what fairness is to his children and even the citizens of Maycomb, but also the readers of the book. One example of this is when a rabid dog makes his way down the main street of Maycomb scaring everyone. Earlier in the book Scout does not believe her father is anything at all because he does not play football with the other fathers. To her amazement, he guns down the dog in his first try. Jem and Scout, both amazed, wonder why he doesn't hunt because of his skill. Ms. Maudie tells them, ‘“I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things”’(130). This displays his fairness as he doesn’t want to hurt anything that won't hurt him. Furthermore, Atticus models fairness when he defends a Negro, Tom Robinson. The city of Maycomb is an extremely racist town and the thought of helping is a black man is unheard of. Atticus believes it is unfair to not help someone in court just because of their race. He

Atticus is the town lawyer thus is more educated than most of the citizens of Maycomb. In the midst of the climax, Atticus is able to prove that Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell. Even Jem is aware of this and tells Scout,”Atticus was trying to show, it seemed to me, that Mr. Ewell could have beaten up Mayella. That much I could follow. If her right eye was black and she was beaten mostly on the right side of the face, it would tend to show that a left-handed person did it”(238). In order for someone to be able to piece together the claim, high intellect would be required. In addition, Atticus displayed his skilled parenting and intelligence to Jem by teaching him the importance of kindness and courage in having him read to Ms. Dubose everyday after school. After Ms. Dubose dies, Atticus told Jem,”Her whole mind and body were concentrated on that alarm clock. If you hadn’t fallen into her hands, I’d have made you go read to her anyway. It may have been some distraction”(148). Atticus’s plan for Ms. Dubose to kick her addiction to morphine included having Jem read to her every day so that each day she would wait a little longer and eventually stop completely. She wanted this so she could feel free when she passed. Through all of these traits,including intelligence, Atticus truly defines what an unlikely hero really