In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout that courage is “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Atticus has shown a lot of courage to his kids. Atticus showed courage by accepting the Tom Robinson case, by standing his ground at the jailhouse, and by standing up to Aunt Alexandra about Calpurnia. He even tries to get his kids to follow in his footsteps. What Atticus meant when he told Scout what courage was, was that even if you know that you're going to lose something it doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
The central idea of To Kill A Mockingbird is Bravery. A quote used in the story that Harper Lee uses to show this central idea is “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (30/34). This quote shows how some people can be brave. Many of the characters in the story were brave but the three i'm going to focus on are Atticus, Jem, and Arthur also known as “Boo”. Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout was very brave throughout the story.
We live in a society today where judging others is a regular, everyday activity. Many people may blame a significant amount of this issue on the excessive amount of technology we have access too, but this problem has been around for much longer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, but it also teaches two young children, Scout and Jem, to listen to others, so that you can have the opportunity to learn from them. Throughout the story many characters were able to demonstrate this lesson for the kids, but three that were true examples of it were Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. With only aiming to stand up for what they believe in and not worrying what everyone
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and her brother live with their dad Atticus. They have a servant Scout doesn’t get along with too well, Calpurnia, “Our battles were epic and one-sided,”(6) showing what Scout thinks about their relationship. They live in the town of Maycomb Alabama. The family goes through a lot of harassment because of a choice Atticus has made to defend an African American man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping young Mayella Ewell. Mrs. Dubose was one of the ones responsible for the harassment by calling Atticus many names and using racial slurs to do so, “neighborhood opinion was unanimous that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived,” (35) further elaborating Mrs. Dubose’s
Atticus is an outstanding father to his son and daughter. Scout and Jem. He is patient, kind, and honest with his children. He treats them with high amounts of respect and teaches them both how to be independent thinkers and problem solvers. He teaches them important life lessons such as importance and empathy and needing to stand up
Jem further understood the true meaning of moral courage when he saw Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man. Although Atticus was hugely outnumbered and even cornered by Mr Cunningham and some other people, he did not back down from them. Instead, he seemed even more determined to win the case and prove Tom Robinson 's innocence to all of Maycomb County. Almost everyone in Maycomb County had criticised Atticus and his children for taking up the case of defending Tom Robinson and they were even called "nigger lovers" by many. At first, Jem did not understand why his father chose to defend Tom Robinson when he knew that people would whisper and gossip about it and that the possibility of him winning the case was very low.
“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche. Is that true? Does adversity really change people for the better? Going through tough situations can give individuals a new kind of strength, emotional strength, which lends them a chance to grow and mature.
As a father Atticus has done everything he can to maintain his children, Jem and Scout, informed of what really is like out there in the real world. Honesty seems to be Atticus rout when dealing with life. In times Atticus will lose trial but the courage he has won’t allow him to give up on innocent people, like Tom. Atticus is the definition of role model to follow. He’s a great father to his children showing the the truth will always push them forwards in life.
Also, he never wanted to do anything that would change his integrity in his children’s eyes. Which is almost one of the bravest things to do is to raise his children well. Atticus’ courage in front of his town and children is
The Universal Loss of Innocence As children, we are often protected from the outside world, as we should be. As a human race, we have the instinct to protect our young and keep them from any kind of harm that could pose a threat. Such young ears or eyes shouldn’t be exposed to something as harsh and cruel as the society we live in both today or 60 years ago. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, you see the same concept exercised in the small town of Maycomb with Jem, Scout, and Dill. As honest and open as Atticus is, he knows when something should be bent to a more positive idea or when to not inform them of something, but as they age throughout the story, the blatantly obvious cruelties of the world get harder and harder to mask or filter out.
Even in a society that, overall, is diverse, people with similar ideas and experiences tend to congregate in small groups, where they are comfortable. It is much easier to remain in homogenous groups, among those who understand each other. When different groups combine, many different life experiences and points of view will be present and will potentially clash. Misunderstanding is bound to occur in some form when individuals of different backgrounds interact. When misunderstandings occur, people tend to respond with violence, fear, or stereotyping.
Sometimes people don’t realize how much their decisions and choices can effect others around them. Parenting is one of these such cases. The thought of having to raise children is loved by many people, but it is often a feared reality. Many people don’t see themselves as being capable of being a parent, even though they are very capable of being a good parent. Some of the best examples of good parenting fall into the book To Kill a Mockingbird.
People of the town including children refer to black people as “Niggers”, and raised to think of black people as lower class individuals. “To Kill A Mockingbird” has a strong message towards racism, this is learned from Scout & Jem as they mature throughout the novel and are constantly being exposed to demeaning segregation in Maycomb County. In giving Scout a lesson about racism, Atticus also does the same for the readers of the novel. This happens when Scout asks Atticus what the term ‘Nigger-lover” meant, after being insulted several of times and not knowing if it is an offensive word or not, but had a slight feeling it was when Atticus was being called at. A quote from the novel: "nigger-lover is
In the 1930s, if a black man was on trial there was a ample chance he would be convicted even if evidence proved he was innocent. Throughout history humans being prejudice and bias have affected the lives of thousands of people; some ending with favorable outcomes while others weren’t so fortunate. Within the book To Kill a Mockingbird the readers learn that prejudice and bias people outnumber the understanding and kind. One decision or in this case twelve decisions decide the fate for an unfortunate man. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals that people often follow their biases and prejudices rather than the truth.
Atticus is a good father because he will explain everything. During the story Atticus explains to Scout what a compromise is. He told Scout the importance of compromising and how she