Why Did Atticus Raise His Children In To Kill A Mockingbird

The 1930's was one of the most despicable times in American history, and as a father in this era you could do one of two things: Allow your children to fall into the stereotypes accepted by society, or teach them to think for themselves. Atticus Finch, the father of Jem and Scout in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, has chosen to raise his children by the former, and the benefits of this can be seen in the character of his kids. Atticus raises his children in the most judgmental time of American history by leading with his actions and teaching his children proper moral lessons about the world and people. Atticus, in this time period, had to do the right thing while the rest of the world was doing the wrong thing. In the 1930's, the whole white community did not care for blacks, and some even had a deep hatred for African Americans. In this era, Atticus had to show Jem and Scout that being racist is not how a decent

Throughout the novel, Atticus has cared about nothing other than doing the right thing to be a positive role model in their lives. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man that was convicted of raping a white girl. In this time period, defending a black man will earn you the title of "nigger-lover." The ultimate insult, this is precisely the title that Atticus earned. This identity of Atticus became so well known around Maycomb that even the children at school told Jem and Scout that their father was a "nigger-lover." An average man in this era would have done his best to rid himself of this title, but all Atticus did was accept it. "Scout," said Atticus, "nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label