However, although Scout has much to learn, it is her own fierce pride that bonds her to her father and allows Atticus to show us another of his commendable talents: as teacher and adviser. He knows that Scout will always lose her self-control "if her pride's at stake" but he knows, through his integrity, that lecturing, or threatening her will not be effective in changing her behaviour.
Atticus has a pivotal role in the novel as a man who embodies all the books themes of justice, tolerance, courage and goodness. It is he, some may argue, and not Scout that is the main character in this stirring novel. Atticus Finch was created by Harper Lee to vent her underlying feelings and moral principles, and to express her ethical philosophy. This, I feel sums up just how important creating the character of Atticus Finch was to Harper Lee, as her mouth and her thoughts and her honourable values became his own.
As I mentioned before there are four main themes throughout this novel that reveal themselves in a variety of different ways and through a variety of different people, as well as Atticus, and we see how the character of Atticus Finch reacts to the issues thrown at him.
One of the more important incidents where this quality contained in Atticus is brought to light is in the trial scene. The setting is Maycomb County Courthouse, a relatively modest, inoffensive building, where again the “anti-black” emotion is felt in strong currents. This is portrayed to the reader through the seating arrangement in the courthouse. The reader must remember that Maycomb is a comparatively small county, where many trials do not occur at all, let alone cases on as serious a scale as this, the case of rape, especially that of a black man allegedly raping a white woman, whether she be “white trash”, or not, so this caused rather a stir in society as town trials in the 1930s were seen as immense social events.
This “out of the ordinary” case was treated rather like a “Carnival” according to Miss Maudie, the Finch’s neighbour. By not attending the trial she was showing her support for Atticus, just as Scout did, but in a way that Scout did not understand. Miss Maudie referred to the crowds gathering outside the courthouse as a “Carnival” because with such an enormous swarm of people things would be crowded, atmospheres intense, hot, and sticky, and seating scarce. It is because of their colour that the black members of the very detached Maycomb community that are forced to sit on the tiny balcony in the courthouse and experience the thoughts, feelings and experiences that Miss Maudie did not wish to experience, by attending the trial and causing even more unnecessary commotion.
Even though the children, (Jem, Dill and Scout), are younger than all the black people seated in the balcony, four fully grown black adults move off the front row bench to allow the children to sit down. The white children to sit down. This just shows the extent of the respect for white people that the black commune has had to have drilled into them from a very early age, the same respect that was also drilled into their ancestors as well. When leaving the courthouse also, the “coloured folk” must wait until the white populace has exited before they may proceed to do so.
Atticus attempts to teach his own children, Jem and Scout, about kindness and generosity and equality between all men. Atticus, this fifty year old attorney-at-law, is endeavouring to project his open minded, pro-multiracial outlook upon his children by comparison of his ideals, and the current Maycomb county reality. He tries to spread that lesson to the town as well through the trial of the case in the courtroom.
This arduous task is seen earlier in the novel as well, when Atticus, and his inquisitive children, are faced with an angry mob, yielding firearms, and being led by Mr. Cunningham. Atticus has very strong beliefs, and, will always stick by them, no matter what. He explains to Scout about the actions and reactions of people once they are part of a mob, after she questions him the next morning on Mr Cunningham's conduct the night before. He elucidates to her; " A mob's always made up of people, no matter what. Mr Cunningham was part of a mob last night, but he was still a man." And, as if to make sure that the message had really sunk in, he dictates it again, but in such a matter that he knows his young children will surely understand. He quips; "That proves something, a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human." We see again that Atticus is emphasising to his children the lesson of not judging, nor hating someone forever, just because of a mistake that they may have committed, or and opinion they was have stressed. Atticus realises that sometimes people get led astray from what is right and true, and so, maybe this is why Harper Lee always conveys Atticus Finch to us alone in his cause, never as a part of a group or mob. This is telling the reader that he does not seem to need other people to back up his opinions and beliefs. We see this so often in the novel that one may actually wonder if it is this quality in Atticus that is a mirror copy of Harper Lee's own belief.
