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How Does Atticus Represent The Truth In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, uses the character of Atticus to represent Moral and Truth. In many situations, Atticus's actions differ from the rest of the prejudice society of the 1930s south and represents how the south would change in the next 30 years. The reason why Atticus’s actions were unusual in this time period was because anyone who publicly challenged the system of segregation was in danger of being killed. When the book was written in the 1960s, many anti-segregation movements had happened since the 30s, changing laws and making it much more common for people to act out against segregation like Atticus.

One major example of this was during Tom Robinson’s trial where Tom was convicted of a crime he …show more content…

Atticus also treats his kids like adults, honestly answering all their questions. Scout says that “'Do you really think so?’ ...was Atticus' dangerous question" because he likes helping people see every situation from a different perspective. Atticus does not use this method only with his kids, but with everyone in Maycomb. One of the things that Miss Maudie admires about him is that "'Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.'" The only time he seriously lectures Jem and Scout is on taking advantage of those less fortunate or educated. Even though most of Maycomb county pins the label "trash" on other people, Atticus reserves that for those people who unfairly exploit …show more content…

For example, when Jem destroys all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bushes Atticus punishes him by having him talk to Mrs. Dubose. She decides having Jem read to her was a good punishment, he says: “She wants me to come every afternoon after school and Saturdays and read her out loud for two hours.” (pg.121) Eventually, Jem learns Mrs. Dubose’s behavior was due to her morphine addiction. Atticus explains to him, “I wanted you to see something about her- 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.”(pg.128) Atticus quickly changed a bad situation into a good life lesson for Jem about courage. One time when walking back home with Jem and Scout Atticus says to Mrs. Dubose. “Good evening Mrs. Dubose you look like a picture this evening” (pg.100) He said this in front of them because he wanted to show them to be respectful to everyone no matter their situation. Like Atticus respects Mrs. Dubose despite her calling him a nigger

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To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in 1962 during the Civil Rights movement, but was set in Alabama in the 1930s. Lee’ father, who was a lawyer in the South during a time of racial prejudice paralleling Atticus, defended an innocent Black men in a case he later lost. Similar to Atticus, Lee’s father lost the case because his client was Black. Having experienced this racial prejudice first hand, Lee chose to write this novel to highlight the racial injustice that took place during the 1930s and the many effects that occured from the racism. Lee uses ethos and logos in Atticus’s speech to the jury, to inform the reader of the injustices of racism.

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Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee’s very definition, “Real courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Courage comes up so many times in this story throughout almost every single character. The characters that I will be proving the acts of courage in in this essay are Mr. Heck Tate, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Aunt Alexandra, and Miss Maudie. Theses characters may not show quite as much courage as some of the others but they do help prove what real courage is. Heck Tate is the sheriff of Maycomb County, which means his job is to protect and serve the people of his jurisdiction.

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a well know book that elaborates on racial, and social equality. Harper Lee authored, and published this book in July of 1960. The book is about a father with two curious children named Jeremy, and Scout. They learn many life lessons throughout the novel, helping them understand the state of racial and social inequality. Atticus their father is very educated, and a wise man.

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Huey Newton once said, “ We have two evils to fight, capitalism and racism. We must destroy both racism and Capitalism.” In Harper Lee's, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Tom Robinson was unjustly convicted of a crime he did not commit. There was plenty of evidence that showed his innocence, but the evidence was ignored because of racism, the time period and slavery. Racism in the southern portion of the United States was extremely prevalent during the 1930s.

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Throughout this journal, Atticus can be characterized to be polite and kindhearted. To begin, Atticus can be described as being a polite man. One example that demonstrates Atticus being polite is how he has taught his children manners. Whenever Jem or Scout act rudely or talk back to an adult, Atticus is sure to reprimand them, forcing them to apologize and contemplate their actions. A point in the book that shows Atticus implementing his views of civility upon his children is when Jem tears up Mrs. Dubose’s camellias.

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The fact that Jem argued back to Atticus’s fatalistic claim proves that he understands the moral issue and unfairness of prejudices, and how significantly it universally affects their society; yet another one of the furtive issues that the world expects you to figure out by

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In Modern day society racism isn’t as common as it was in the 1900’s. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Mockingbird is a symbol for an a character who brings nothing but peace to the world. Atticus Finch is an harmless and innocent mockingbird, whose image is ruined by trying to step aside the racial barrier in and defend Tom Robinson. Atticus is a mockingbird in this book because of his exceptional behavior he provides to the community around him.

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Scout wonders why Atticus is going along with something that society did not agree with, defending a negro who has been claimed to commit a crime, but he responds with saying it was the right thing to do and that the society was corrupt. “If you shouldn’t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it?” “For a number of reasons, the main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”(100) This adds to the kind of character Atticus is, he is bold for being the one to stand up for what is right in a corrupt society.

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In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, By Harper Lee, she tells a tragic story about a noble lawyer who takes the case of an innocent black man. In this story the individuals had to face difficult decisions, where they had to make the right or wrong choices and if they wanted to please themselves or the society. Atticus had to choose between the white community to please society or the black community to please himself; he made the right choice. Atticus made the decision to help Tom Robison, whom he was accused of raping and beating Mayella by taking Tom 's case to court and prove the he was innocent to everything he was accused for. This was shown when Atticus said, "The main one is, if I didn 't I couldn 't hold my head in town, I couldn

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Atticus’s teachings at home are far more valuable to his children than anything they learn in the classroom. Scout notices this most obviously when learning about the Holocaust. Her teacher explains that such oppression of one group of people could never happen in the United States and Scout is astonished. She heard Miss Gates outside the court house during Tom Robinson's trial saying that, referring to black people, she thought it was, "time somebody taught them a lesson, they thought they was getting' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us." Scout sees Miss Gates's statement about blacks in clear conflict with her

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I 'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it 's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn 't hurt you." (Lee 124) With this quote Atticus not only teaches Scout and Jem to love everyone, but also not to let anyone or anything get in the way of you doing that. Lastly, Atticus shows the children not only that some people are simply bad people, but also that you should not do the bad things they do.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

Atticus Finch is a father of two children, a fair lawyer, a committed community member and most importantly a good person. The setting of the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a small town in an era where racism is prevalent, a white person’s word will always be above a black person’s. This attitude is common among the community members of the town and time period but Atticus hasn’t caught this “disease”. Throughout the novel, Atticus stays true to himself with the same morals and characteristics, even in difficult situations. Besides not having any prejudices against the black community, Atticus is also humble, has integrity and empathetic.

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People often hesitate to make changes from the fear of being looked upon differently. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Atticus is a white male who is a lawyer by profession. He is assigned to defend an innocent black man in a rape trial, but he faces disapproval from the society and challenges to overcoming racism, and to keep his children from its negative influence. The main theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is that outcasts like Atticus and Scout try to make changes in the society even though it is unlikely for them to overcome the odds and succeed. Atticus Finch is an outcast in the society because he is doing what he believed in, by defending a black man in a society pervaded with racism.

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To Kill a Mockingbird - Courage "Courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee 's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel. "The only thing we 've got is a black man 's word against the Ewells '.

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He knows the rest of the town will disapprove, but he believes in the innocence of this man and does not care of his complexion. In this moment, Scout and Jem only see how everyone will downgrade them and see them differently. Atticus shows, it does not matter what others think, all that matters is that you support what you believe in. This shows how Atticus is a strong character who contributes a lot to the overall lesson

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