Atticus In To Kill A Mockingbird

They Call Him Atticus Who is this guy Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird? On first glance he seems quite transparent: a single parent who does his best to raise his children during the mid-1930s when racial prejudice flourished in the southern United States of America. He is an accomplished lawyer and a common-sense man of considerable intelligence and wisdom. He endures his children with humor and grace, rarely if ever losing his self-control. It comes as somewhat of a surprise, then, that such a Southern gentleman would allow his own children to refer to him by his first name. Might we even sense a faintly sarcastic tone emanating from his children, or at least a bit of deliberate distancing of themselves from him as they go about

Mostly, Atticus is just “Atticus” to his children. Although this practice might, indeed, suggest rudeness or seem to distance him from his children, in truth, it is one way he allows the children to bring him closer to them. They have no mother, but they get a privilege other children do not have: such close familiarity with their father that they can call him by his first name. Not only does it give them familiarity, but also a sense of worthiness and security: they feel free and safe to ask him or approach him with nearly anything, knowing that he will respond with a considered

Love is the appropriate word. He loves them. A groan-inducing cliché, perhaps, but not the way Scout portrays it here. Love does gratefully respect, to be sure. But in this novel, love also listens, even to the vituperative Mrs. Dubose. Love connects with, does things with, and does things for, like making compromises and reading together and making difficult ideas simple. It protects through thoughtful teaching (“Don’t say ‘nigger,’ Scout. It’s common”), and provides a place where it is safe to fall miserably short of expectations without being ostracized or teased or maligned. This love stands in another’s shoes, even in Bob Ewell’s. It seeks justice regardless of cost to reputation or image. It practices courage in the face of contempt. It values the patience to listen to each side of a story. It does all of that, even in the knowledge of certain pain and loss. This love risks