Atticus Finch Analysis: Advantages vs Disadvantages

📌Category: Books, To Kill a Mockingbird
📌Words: 752
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 24 June 2021

Many fathers around the world are comforting their children. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a character named Atticus Finch is this type of father. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem. Atticus is a lawyer who is forced to defend a black man in the racist town of Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s. Atticus believes in racial equality and justice with the negro people in Maycomb. Atticus teaches the children about racial inequality and wants them to be supportive of the negro people. Atticus’s influence on Jem and Scout is positive and negative from Atticus standing up, his relationship with the children, and the children's view of Atticus.

Atticus is the leading lawyer in the town of Maycomb. Atticus spends most of his time working and misses time with Jem and Scout. The children both get teased at school by other children because Atticus is defending a black man. Atticus tells the children to ignore the others and just keep their heads up. When the children ask why he defends Tom, Atticus replies “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head in town” (Lee 86) this shows how Atticus feels about defending Tom. Later in the story, Atticus went to the prison where Tom was held, at the prison, a group of imprudent men try to kill Atticus. Jem and Scout are at the prison and Atticus tells Jem to take Scout home. Jem, understanding the situation, tells Atticus no because Jem is scared for Atticus’s safety. The group of men leave and Atticus learns that Jem and Scout truly care about him. At the trial, Tom is found guilty and Atticus is disappointed in himself. When Atticus is leaving the courthouse all of the negro people stand up for him out of respect. Scout learns that people respect Atticus for what he has done. After the trial, Jem and Scout develop more respect for Atticus.

When the children are in an argument they ask Atticus who is correct. Atticus listens to both of their sides and tells them who is correct. Atticus also would tell them the complete truth about the question because “when a child asks you something, answer them for goodness sake … children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than an adult” (Lee 99). From Atticus’s mentality, the children can understand subjects better. Atticus’s main connection with Scout is reading to her on his lap. After the first day of school Scout wants to quit but Atticus tells her that she can read with him if she goes to school every day. Atticus’s relationship with Jem is very dry because Jem loves football and Atticus does not. Atticus only connects with Jem through Scout. Atticus always wants Jem to help and protect Scout and support her when she is low. Another character in the story is named Boo Radley. The town believes that Boo is a malevolent phantom. Boo gives Jem and Scout the protection that Atticus can not give since he is very busy. Atticus is not very close with his children but he stated that they are the only thing he has left. The relationships were made stronger after Jem and Scout's mother died. Atticus helps the children through their emotional struggles just by talking about their problems. Atticus also wants Jem and Scout to persevere through their struggles by keeping their heads up.

Scout and Jem see Atticus as “too tired to play keep away but when Jem wanted to tackle him Atticus would say, I'm too old for that son” (Lee 102). Jem loses what most children do with their father, playing catch. Jem loses a special bond that many kids develop with their father. Scout thinks that their father is just an old man who just works all day. One big disadvantage to the children is that they are left out of many conversations. The children at school talk about how their father is special. The children have nothing special about Atticus that they can talk about. Later the children learn that Atticus is the one-shot Finch and can kill any living thing with one shot. Naturally, the children want Atticus to use his abilities and Atticus tells them that it is wrong to use an advantage against living things. The children learn that Atticus has respect for others and how he wants everything to be fair. The children also see Atticus more are a rule giver than as a father. Jem and Scout are more scared of them getting in trouble with Atticus than seeking his affection. Both Jem and Scout call Atticus by his name rather than just calling him dad or father. The children always knew Atticus’s tacit rules for them when leaving the house by themselves. The children receive edification from Atticus that many children never get.

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