Atticus Finch Character

Father, lawyer, and friend, the gentlemanly Atticus Finch hopes to shape the character of his children. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is the story of the childhood of the young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Throughout the book, the character Atticus, who is her father, tries his best to raise her and her brother, Jem, the right way as a single parent. To Kill a Mockingbird exemplifies the way the character of Atticus Finch either uses ritual or abandons it in order to develop certain character qualities within his children. He is especially concerned with the development of honesty, courage, and humility.

One of the most prominent character traits that Atticus tries to teach Scout and Jem is honesty. During

Dubose’s situation. Mrs. Dubose has been on Morphine her entire life trying to take her pain away, but as she got older she realized that she wanted to be free of her addiction, and she is brave and perseveres through the battle. The Harvard Law Review called “Being Atticus Finch” references Atticus’s ritual of courtesy, it says, “Atticus’s courtesy is, in fact, a kind of ritual, which in one sense steels him - and by extension, his children - against taunts and threats no matter how ugly or incendiary.” Atticus knows that Mrs. Dubose is fighting the battle of her life, and his courtesy is sort of a shield against her hurtful comments that he passes onto his children while they are reading to her. Atticus says that even if Mrs. Dubose didn’t make them read to her, he would have anyway because he wanted to show them her courage. Atticus tells Scout and Jem, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Scout and Jem realize that courage is not necessarily fighting on a battlefield, but fighting the battles in your own life, just like Mrs. Dubose