"I can't live one way in town and another way in my home" Examine the attitudes, character and role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
"I can't live one way in town and another way in my home" Examine the attitudes, character and role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses the character of Atticus Finch as a mouthpiece for many of her moral ethics in her novel. He plays many roles within the novel; primarily as a father, then as a highly principled man, a respected citizen of a small town community, and finally as a lawyer trying to do his job as well as he can. As a father, Atticus is meticulous in the way he raises his children. He ensures that all the things that he wishes them to learn, in terms of morality, are always practised by himself and those around his children. For example, he gives Calpurnia the same amount of authority over the children as Atticus himself. This is portrayed when Scout grumbles about the "epic and one-sided" battles with Calpurnia, which "Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side". Through this, we see that he has no feelings of inferiority toward the black community, and he treats them just the same as all other humans. As Scout and Jem have always grown up in her company, they grow up understanding that race and colour do not make any difference to the nature of any human being. He is also very concerned about the messages his children receive from everyone around and also from himself. This is shown when he is very
"Discuss Harper Lee's presentation of the theme of family life in the novel".
"Discuss Harper Lee's presentation of the theme of family life in the novel" There are many different kinds of family life in "To Kill A Mockingbird". There are white families and black families, high-class families and lower-class families. I think that Harper Lee exaggerates the family hierarchy, i.e. the lower families are shown as being very poor and the higher families are shown to be almost perfect, to make it more clear to us how different the families are. The Finch family would be an example of an almost perfect family, which is highly ironic considering that there is no mother. They are a relatively well off family and stand near the top of Maycomb's social hierarchy. There is a lot of love, trust and security within the family. Atticus is a very good father and has brought Scout and Jem up to be very mature and respectful. He devotes himself to his children despite criticism from family and neighbours who think his children lack discipline and proper guidance. Atticus is a wise man, committed to justice and equality, and his parenting style is based on fostering these virtues in his children - he even encourages Jem and Scout to call him 'Atticus' so that they can interact on terms as equal as possible. Throughout the novel, Atticus works to develop Scout's and Jem's respective consciences, through teaching, as when he tells Scout to put herself in a person's
According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what."
Webster's dictionary defines courage as "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty." According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Chapter 11, Page 124) No matter how you define it, Harper Lee definitely portrays the theme of courage in this book. It is one of the most predominant themes and is shown in many of the characters. All of the characters have a different view as to what courage is and they all show it a different way, however they do show courage in their everyday lives. For a younger character, like Scout, courage is most often associated with a physical act that is usually dangerous. It is hard for young children like that to realize that greater courage is shown in other aspects of life. Scout sees an example of courage in her father when he shoots the mad dog. Although Atticus did not think of it as very courageous, Jem and Scout were proud of their father and the courage he showed in the situation. He was not trying to prove anything, yet they were still impressed. Later on in the story, Jem and Scout encounter the vindictive Mrs. Dubose. "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Chapter 11, Page 113) When she bad- mouthed Atticus
Scouts First School Day
Scouts First School Day Dill left soon after that to go back to Meridian, and it was time for Scout to go to school for the first time. She had been waiting her whole life to go to school, but it turned out to be a great disappointment. Miss Caroline, Scout's very young first grade teacher from North Alabama, was surprised to find that Scout could read very well and even write in cursive. Rather than being proud of her or excited about such a bright pupil, Miss Caroline told Scout that she was not allowed to read with her father anymore because Atticus didn't know how to teach. Scout was crushed. Then, just before lunch, Scout tried to helpfully explain to Miss Caroline that Walter Cunningham did not have a lunch with him because he was poor. Scout knew that because Miss Caroline wasn't from Maycomb she wouldn't understand that Walter couldn't take the quarter she kept offering him because the Cunningham's didn't borrow what they couldn't pay back. Scout was educated on the Cunningham's particular situation because Atticus had once helped Walter's father with a legal matter pertaining to his land, and Mr. Cunningham had paid Atticus with farm goods rather than money. Miss Caroline, however, thought Scout was just being rude, so she swatted her hand with a ruler and made her stand in the corner. Scout was exiled there until the lunch bell rang. When Jem started across the
“To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about courage”. To what extent do you agree with this?
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay by Jackie Jin 10K TOPIC- "To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about courage". To what extent do you agree with this? Courage is the quality of mind that enables one to face danger with confidence, resolution, and gain a firm control of oneself. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird showed courage in their own way. Courage can come in many different forms: physical, mental, emotional and moral. Courage is not the only main theme displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird; prejudice and education are also very important themes exhibited throughout the progression of the novel. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl, these themes of the novel are explored in great depth. The many forms of courage are shown throughout the novel by the characters of Jem, Boo (Arthur), Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Jem showed one of the greatest acts of physical courage as he protected his little sister Scout from the attack of Bob Ewell on the night of Halloween. Boo was also very courageous, he lived many years without human contact. That is a lonely thing to do, and it took mental courage for him to try and reach out to Jem and Scout when his father kept him imprisoned. Emotional courage is shown through Mrs. Dubose; she was a morphine addict and it took great courage for her to quit before her death to "die beholden to
Atticus confesses that he sometimes thinks of himself as a "complete failure" as a parent. Do you agree with him? Support your views with close reference to the text.
Atticus confesses that he sometimes thinks of himself as a "complete failure" as a parent. Do you agree with him? Support your views with close reference to the text Atticus Finch is nearly fifty years of age and is a well-known and established lawyer in Maycomb County. Atticus has two children named Jeremy Finch and Jean Louise Finch, better known as Jem and Scout. Atticus is an only parent as Jem and Scouts' mother died when Scout was two from a sudden heart attack and Scout therefore expresses in the book that she never really 'felt her absence'. My personal view is that Harper Lee intentionally creates Atticus as having to raise both Jem and Scout by himself as he has much more responsibility as a father to fulfill all the parental duties on his own and this may give Atticus a reason to doubt himself as he does at certain points in the novel. Different characters and different incidents throughout the novel portray varied views, thoughts and ideas to the reader about Atticus as a parent, some bad, some good but each tell us a substantial amount about this character as a whole. An example may be chapter one when Scout expresses her own and her brothers' views about Atticus as father, 'Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.' The reader can learn a lot from individual character opinions about Atticus
Near the end of the book Atticus says to Heck Tate, “Sometimes I think I’m a total failure as a parent, but I’m all they’ve got.” How do you judge Atticus as a parent? Does he make any mistakes? What do other characters say about
Near the end of the book Atticus says to Heck Tate, "Sometimes I think I'm a total failure as a parent, but I'm all they've got." How do you judge Atticus as a parent? Does he make any mistakes? What do other characters say about him? Atticus is a single parent who is nearly fifty years old when we first meet him. He lives with his two children, Jem who is 10 at the beginning of the book, and Scout who is six. His wife died when Scout was two, so Atticus has had to bring the children up for four years, on his own, with help from Calpurnia-a coloured servant. Atticus is a lawyer, who practises in his hometown, which is a small town called Maycomb in Alabama. Hard times fall upon the Finch family when Atticus is appointed to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white girl. Atticus does not have to agree to take the case, but his self-respect and pride demand that he makes sure Tom gets a fair trial. He knows that he does not have a good chance of winning the trial, because it is a case of a white mans word against a black man, he admits this, "we were licked before we started". This act displays his belief in humanity and his sense of justice. It also verifies that Atticus is not a racist man and views the black community as equals. This attitude was not prevalent at the time, despite the fact that it was over seventy years since
How does Scout and Jem mature during the novel?
English Homework How does Scout and Jem mature during the novel? Jem is the older child and therefore matures much faster than Scout. At the beginning of the story, we see Jem as a boy of childish thoughts and behaviour. He invents games and amuses himself with the Boo Radley's mystery. He believes that Boo is "chained to his bed" and his description of Boo is that of a child's. His childishness is clearly revealed when he carries out the dare of touching Boo's house. He also shows this when he tramples on Mrs Dubose's flowers because she has called Atticus awful names like "nigger-lover". However as the story progresses Jem gradually outgrows his childishness and this is shown by various events in the novel. Being four years older than Scout, he is beginning to be aware of the age gap between them. For example he has to be bribed by Atticus to take Scout on her first day of school. He is also careful to explain that during school hours Scout was to leave him alone. He becomes critical in his attitude towards her as a girl and when Dill stays in Maycomb he excludes Scout from their activities. He now tells her, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right". Jem is growing up all the time. This can be seen when he stops Scout from embarrassing Dill by asking about his family life. Jem later decides to write a thank you note for the gifts Boo leaves in the tree
'To Kill a Mockingbird' : Describe the importance of Calpurnia in the lives of the Finch family, and in the novel as a whole.
English Coursework - To kill a Mockingbird Describe the importance of Calpurnia in the lives of the Finch family, and in the novel as a whole. Calpurnia is more than just a family cook to the Finch's. She also acts as the mother to Jem and Scout by helping to bring them up, teaching them right from wrong, disciplining them and comforting them when they were upset because their mother died when they were very young. She has worked for the Finch's for a very long time and has a very firm control over the children which causes Scout to resent her. Atticus trusts and supports Calpurnia because he considers her as a very important member of the family. For example he says "Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn't have got along without her all these years. She's a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are", when Aunt Alexandra wanted to get rid of her. When Aunt Alexandra came to live with Atticus, Jem and Scout she told Atticus that she wanted to get rid of Calpurnia. This was because Aunt Alexandra was very proper and snobbish so she agreed with the people of Maycomb and the Southern attitudes about Negroes. Calpurnia is intelligent and is one of the few Negroes in Maycomb who can read and write. She even taught Scout how
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it.” Show how Atticus possesses the ability to do this and how Scout develops the skill during the novel.
Duncan Meadows December 2001 "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it." Show how Atticus possesses the ability to do this and how Scout develops the skill during the novel. "To Kill a Mockingbird" was written in 1960 by Harper Lee. It is based in Maycomb, Alabama, and is based around the lives of two young children, Jem and Scout, as they grow up in the Deep South with their father Atticus, a lawyer. The book explores the problems America faced in the thirties. One of the main themes of the novel is racism, which is particularly prevalent in the southern states. Almost all of Maycomb is racist but a few members of the community, most importantly Atticus, hold a different point of view. Early on in the novel Harper Lee shows us how Atticus can empathise with his own children about everyday matters. Atticus responds sympathetically to Scout's unhappy first day at school by giving her the advice quoted in the title. He invites Scout to consider the day from her teacher's point of view as well as her own. He tells her not to disapprove of the Ewell children for their non-school attendance even though Atticus makes it clear he disapproves of Mr. Ewell himself. He and Scout make a compromise-
