Personality In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

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“To Kill a Mockingbird” Essay
Dimebag Darrell once said that “There’s obviously going to be highs and lows, and the trick to it is to be able to maintain composure and stay high even when you’re in the lows.” Darrell is expressing that during bad or even good times, having composure and staying serene is important because without it, society wouldn’t run properly. In the book“To Kill a Mockingbird,” there were instances where it was hard for the people in the town to stay calm, yet there were these characters who were able to keep themselves contained so that the community would be able to remain relaxed as well. Through Atticus, Miss Maudie, and Calpurnia, Harper Lee conveys that in order to have a well running society, the ability of having …show more content…

When approached by Bob Ewell after the trial, Mr. Ewell spit on Atticus’s face, but “Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names” (Lee 291). Instead of lashing out and making the situation worse, he was able to keep himself contained and away from further trouble. As humans, when someone does something that they didn’t appreciate, their first thought is usually revenge. Atticus’s first thought was to not make things worse and to have that necessary self-control. If Atticus had lashed out at Mr. Ewell, the community between that town and those two groups of people would have been even more disturbed than before. When Atticus lost the trial, “Atticus was standing under the streetlight looking as though nothing had happened” (284). Atticus didn’t act out in front of the trial audience and didn’t start saying rash things about the trial and how it was wrong. Even though he knew the outcome was wrong, he didn’t attempt to make the situation worse. If something doesn’t go a certain way that is ideal in society, their initial thought is usually to argue about it. When Atticus lost the trial, he could have argued