The Morality Of Atticus Finch - 2094 Words

The Morality of Atticus Finch In recent literary history, perhaps the strongest contender for the one character that has had the greatest influence on a generation is Atticus Finch, father of the protagonist in â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird†. Both as a father, and a lawyer, he has served, and still today serves as a pillar of righteousness and morality. The ability for his morality to translate to all people, across ages, races, and cultures, is a feat preformed by Harper Lee in her masterpiece, â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird†. She establishes Atticus Finch as the moral center of the novel by juxtaposing his actions and the relationships with those of the majority of Maycomb. In doing so, she has made him a cultural, and oftentimes personal icon. The relationships established by Atticus Finch with his children, the Ewells, and the rest of the town, including the black community, are a large reason why he is known as the moral center, and why it seems all immoral conflict revolves around him. The reader s ees it play out in the plainest terms with his children. He is their father, and they respect him as such, but their respect for him surpasses their paternal relationship with him, demonstrated by how they refer to him as Atticus instead of â€Å"Father†. We see him teach Scout how to read, and the amount of time he spends with his children, even though the majority of the novel takes place during an important court case in his career. Along the way, he teaches them lessons, like how it’sShow MoreRelatedTeaching Compassion in a World Were Compassion Is Lost677 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"compassion is the basis of all morality.† This means that â€Å"principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior† (Google dictionary, morality) are developed by the â€Å"sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortune of others.† (Google dictionary, compassion) In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird we generally see this through the character Atticus Finch. Atticus demonstrates this when he pardons Bob Ewell’s threats toward the Finch family, accepts the Tom RobinsonRead MoreMorals In To Kill A Mockingbird838 Words   |  4 PagesMockingbird G.K Chesterton quotes, â€Å"I say that a man must be certain of his morality for a simple reason that he has to suffer for it.† Harper Lee’s novel To Kill Mockingbird tells the story of a character who makes moral and ethical decisions while facing many problems. Atticus Finch is a man of unshakable morals. This is demonstrated through him teaching his children morals and him fighting for what is right. Atticus Finch displays his solid morals by teaching his children important values, likeRead MoreIs Atticus Finch A Good Father Essay736 Words   |  3 PagesAtticus Finch from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a single father to Jem and Scout and a lawyer in Maycomb. He teaches his children about respect and shows it in everything he does. He not only teaches them respect, but also morality and life lessons. He’s upfront with them about how life is and the troubles in it. Because of these three reasons and many more that I haven’t mentioned, Atticus Finch is a good father. Atticus is a good father because he sets an example of respect. He teaches hisRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1005 Words   |  5 Pagesin 1960. Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout, recalls her experiences as a six-year-old from an adult perspective, describing the circumstances involving her father Atticus and his legal defense of Tom Robinson, a local African American male falsely accused of raping a white woman. This novel takes readers to the roots of human behavior and challenges the racial prejudices shown to colored folks in Maycomb, by integrating Robinson’s court case into to the plot. Atticus Finch is one of the few residentsRead MoreCourage in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay704 Words   |  3 PagesMockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustaine d, or newly developed personal integrity. Jean Louise Finch responds to her own acts of courage by finding her righteous moral ground. The young Finch girl stepped between a potentially violent conflict, between Atticus and a group of male residentsRead MoreKill A Mockingbird : Five Paragraph Analysis1288 Words   |  6 Pagesrather than the proper evaluation of proven evidence. This is Maycomb, Alabama, the strange, Southern town where Scout and Jem Finch grow up during the 1930s in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In short, the novel travels a thin line between a light-hearted narrative of the siblings’ childhood with their single father, a defense attorney named Atticus Finch, and the injustices that arise within their close-knit community. The complexities include extreme racism, a peculiar social hierarchyRead MoreTo Kill A Mockingbird Ethical Dilemma Essay1001 Words   |  5 Pagesengulfs the town’s perspective on race, poverty, and ignorance forcing its people to choose between the two . The enlightenment of empathy can not only be used to alleviate society from its own ignorance, but it can also solve the rhetorical clash of morality and social norms. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and scout use their childish innocence to spark a moral reformation within the small town, centralized in the Tom Robinson case, and carried out through the acceptance of Boo Radley, that inevitablyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1752 Words   |  8 Pagesperson until you consider things from his point of view†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Atticus finch, Lee 34). The novel To kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a masterpiece that takes readers to explore how human behave. The feelings, conflicts, meanings, reasons, love, cruelty, kindness and humor within the book is what makes the book a necessity to the reader. Harper Lee showed throughout her book how a damage and cruel society looks like. Lee’s view of the word â€Å"morality† is what gives the characters the power to cont rast theirRead MoreAtticus Finch Character Analysis Essay860 Words   |  4 Pageshave the courage. Atticus Finch is an excellent example of one of those people. Mr. Finch is a father, role model, and lawyer. As these are rather bland descriptions it seems fitting that a man of such a humble lifestyle has unshakeable morals, strong philosophical viewpoints, and the stoic courageousness of a lion. Without a personality as enthralling as that of Mr. Finch, Harper Lee’s novel would be vapid. This novel is anything but vanilla, therefore the character Atticus Finch portrays himselfRead MoreAnalysis Of Harper Lee s Kill A Mockingbird 1702 Words   |  7 Pagessense of morality diminishes and they become immune to the atrocities society commits. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee depicts the beautiful upbringing of Jem and Scout Finch as blissful and free due to the parenting style of their father, Atticus; playing the role of the responsible father, Atticus keeps his children, Jem and Scout, informed about the happenings of the world in which they live. The treatment he gives his children is both protective and enlightening. The response Atticus gives when