Atticus Finch Childhood In To Kill A Mockingbird

Children are born into the world with no set guidelines or morals until they can get a basic understanding of the world around them. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a man with incredible amounts of honor and morality. His two kids see a lot of the cruelty that exists in life throughout their childhood, from a racist trial to a truly bitter person. Atticus tries to instill several morals into his children so that they will lead successful lives in the future with a strong understanding of the world.
Atticus has his children read to a bitter old lady named Mrs. Dubose, so that they can help her overcome her morphine addiction. His reasoning being that “‘I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real

When the Finches and Heck Tate learn that Jem likely stabbed and killed their neighbor, Bob Ewell, after he assaulted Jem and his sister, Scout. Heck tried to convince Atticus he should play it off as if Bob accidentally stabbed himself, but Atticus believed, “‘Heck, it’s mighty kind of you and I know you’re doing it from that good heart of yours, but don’t start anything like that’” (Lee 365). He believes that the law should be fully respected and wanted to set the example for his kids that there are no excuses to be made for something so serious. Another way Atticus teaches this to his children is when a man named Tom Robinson, who was convicted under a false rape accusation, was shot dead in prison for trying to escape. Even though it is terrible news for everyone, Atticus believes “‘What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner’” (Lee 315). Even though Atticus knows Tom was innocent, he was still a prisoner and got what was coming to him for trying to escape. He teaches his children that even though someone can be really close to you, and you understand their reasoning for doing something wrong, you should still respect the law and enforce