Tolerance In To Kill A Mockingbird

A lawyer, and a man who could amaze his children with his unique talents, but hides them away because of his beliefs. In this novel, Harper Lee portrays a valiant, but single father, fighting for a colored man falsely accused of rape in an exciting story called “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Atticus’s two children Jem and Scout, both learn discipline, tolerance, and to not be judgmental of others; this is shown through his reticence and his social interactions.
Atticus teaches discipline by allowing Jem and Scout to adventure out and discover the social inequalities in Maycomb County. He then realizes that Jem and Scout will have to “absorb some ugly things pretty soon” and he’s worried that Scout would “jump on someone” and lose her head (Lee 116).

He handles most of Jem and Scout’s predicaments calmly, but after defending Tom Robinson in a case of false accusations, a racist man named Bob Ewell confronted Atticus, “spat on him”, and “threatened to kill him,” Atticus remained unfazed from the assault. When Jem questions Atticus about this, his only response was “if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating” he would have gladly accepted. Through this Jem learned how courageous and tolerant Atticus was toward Bob Ewell, and realized that maybe people don’t have to solve problems with violence. Atticus could have retaliated, but he realized that Bob must have just been angry after Atticus destroyed every piece of evidence he had. Another example of tolerance is when a cranky old morphine addict named Mrs. Dubose called Atticus a “nigger-lover” and other obscenities (Lee 144). Atticus did not retaliate, but embraced her hatred and resentment and saw through her. Miss Dubose knew she was in bad condition, but she continued her addiction of painkillers/morphine leaving her in a stagnant condition. This to Atticus made her the “bravest person” he knew, and that “she meant to break herself of [her] [morphine addiction] before she died” (Lee 149). Atticus wanted to show Jem and Scout what real courage was, even if he had to endure the humiliation. Mrs. Dubose did not want to

Both Jem and Scout were disappointed with Atticus because “he never went hunting, he did not play poker…” all he does is sit “in the living room and read” and he had an unexciting job (Lee 118). They never really saw anything interesting about him until he shot Tim Johnson, and defended Tom Robinson in court. After his, Jem and Scout’s respect toward Atticus significantly increased, and they became more accepting of him. Atticus always talked in puzzles, for example: “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” and other scenes like him telling Jem and Scout to forget what he told them (Lee 39&179). Although he does not remain reticent throughout the whole story, he wanted them to realize that people or mockingbirds, for example, Boo Radley remain reserved and quiet hiding his own dignity. He wanted them to forget because Atticus wanted to show them that one should not parade and depend on their talents or dignity. Through Atticus’s reticence, Jem and Scout both learn to not be judgmental because one can never judge a person without being in his point of