What is Atticus' key role in the novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird'?

In addition, he felt that his children should explore the world as it is, unlike other families who passed on their views and knowledge of the world to their children; this is shown at the beginning of the novel when Scout and Jem were “fascinated” about the Radley Place and were playing games to imagine what Boo was like. “Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radley’s?” he asks the children. However, he does not tell the children to stop finding out about who Boo Radley is and tells the children that “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This shows that he wants the children to explore and use their mistakes to help them grow and understand, which is a key theme in the novel. He wants his children to understand that “courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It’s knowing you’re liked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it anyway” which shows that he has learn from his mistake about shooting and wants his children to learn that too.

Furthermore, he believes that a man is not guilty until proven guilty. He knew that Tom Robinson was innocent and he was responsible for defending him at the trial; however he felt that it was his duty to protect Tom Robinson in the lead up to the trial: “Atticus did something that interested us; he came into the living-room carrying a long electrical extension cord. There was a lightbulb on the end. ‘I am going out for a while’ he said” to go and protect Tome Robinson from a mob that Heck Tate was worried about a possible lynch mob. This shows that he really cares about people and wants to protect them from harm, whatever race they come from. Additionally, he does not care about how people will treat him for defending a black man; he would just say “I’m simply defending a negro – his name’s Tom Robinson.” He believes that everyone is human and should therefore be treated like a human. The b lack community treat him like a hero: “Miss Jean Louise, stand up, your father’s passin’” which shows the respect the black people feel for Atticus for defending someone of lower social class.

Atticus plays and important role in the novel where he believes that everyone deserves a chance and believes that his children should learn using their own experiences, which Scout learns to do well.