Atticus' character - Atticus Finch is the father of Scout and Jem and is a lawyer in the Deep South of America in the nineteen thirties in a town called Maycomb.
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Introduction
ESSAY- ATTICUS' CHARACTER Atticus Finch is the father of Scout and Jem and is a lawyer in the Deep South of America in the nineteen thirties in a town called Maycomb. His family have lived in Maycomb for three generations and own a small cotton plantation called Finch's landing. Atticus is a respectable member of the community and as a single parent is bringing up Scout and Jem alone, having been widowed some years before. He has domestic help from a black woman called Calpurnia who cooks and also looks after the children. He came from a 'middle class' background where his brothers were well educated and he himself had studied in the more advanced Northern states: 'Atticus went to Montgomery to read law, and his younger brother went to Boston to study medicine'. He had a strong commitment to family and the value of education. He had a strong commitment to family and the value of education. 'During his first five years in Maycomb, Atticus practised economy more than anything; for several years thereafter he invested his earnings in his brother's education'. This conveys the typical family values at the time. He treats Calpurnia with the utmost respect, and this shows that she is still treated as an equal. ...read more.
Middle
Jem is feeling proud and asks his father why he does not go hunting anymore. Miss Maude answers for Atticus: "Marksmanship is a gift of God, a talent - Oh, you have to practice to make it perfect but shootin's different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realised that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot until he had to, and he had to today." This gives the impression that Atticus cares for all living things and if he used this talent, he would take his marksmanship for granted and use it as a plus against all other living things. "Shoot all the blue jays you want...if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird". These next points show that Atticus' thoughts for others; for example when Miss Maudie's house is on fire he saves the one thing that she holds most dearly in her life her rocking chair: "I saw Atticus carrying miss Maudie's heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most'' this shows Atticus is very thoughtful by taking her most precious thing in the world to her. ...read more.
Conclusion
It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholding to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." This conveys Atticus as a true gentleman, and that he can pinpoint what to say at the right time, since Jem had a different impression of Mrs Dubose and thought of her as a nasty old senile woman. In summary, Atticus Finch is an educated and well-respected man, caring, considerate and egalitarian. Despite inheriting the cotton plantation, in his attitudes towards the equality of blacks he had a fundamentally different approach than others of his generation and background, and was ahead of his time. He is honest, fair and brave, and values these qualities in others to be as equal as one with his fellow mankind. He is a good father, and tries to teach his children Christian values, with an intelligent approach to treating others as equals. His courage is underlined in this book because he is putting his reputation and social standing at stake for the defence of a black man whom he believes to be innocent, as a stand against racial injustice. BY JOE GILL 10A1 ...read more.
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