Atticus Character in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Atticus Character in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Atticus in “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is a morally upright lawyer, a loving father, and a good citizen. Despite the tremendous opposition and struggles that Atticus has to face, his actions, outlook and views reveal a compassionate, courageous and reasonable person with high morals and principles. It is due to these high morals and principles that he is greatly admired and respected in the town.
Atticus can be regarded as a reasonable and understanding character. According to him, any person deserves to be listened to, and his side of the story considered before condemning them or judging their actions. “You may never understand a person until you take things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk in around it (Lee 30). This principle has enabled him to see things from different perspectives and made him equally a good lawyer as a father. As seen in the story, Atticus tries to get to the cause of any issue before offering a suggestion or advice. It is this kind of approach that has made his children to greatly love him to the extent of regarding him as the father of the year. It has also led to the winning of many cases in court. When Atticus tells Scout to read the newspaper with him, she seemed upset and lost in thoughts. Her teacher had warned her against being assisted in learning by her father. Atticus followed Scout and sought to know why she was upset. It was then on learning of the teacher’s warning that they came at a compromise with the little girl.

He tries to make her see and understand the teacher’s side of view. He then tells her that they would continue reading every night, but she was to refrain from letting the teacher know. Scout readily agrees to this suggestion and becomes happy again.
Atticus is also the least infected by prejudice in the whole town. He has no problem whatsoever with his children being raised by a black woman or with his kids attending Calpurnia’s church. He goes to deliver news of Tom’s death to Helen’s home despite the fact that it was in a black community yet he was a white. Atticus is also unaffected by Miss Stephanie’s catty gossip, Walter’s threat on his life, as well as Dubose’s sharp tongue. He also failed to retaliate after Ewell spit on his face as he knew he had wounded his pride yet it was the only thing that he owned. All these incidences showed that Atticus was a reasonable man who first saw things from people’s perspectives before judging them.
Atticus is also presented as the exact opposite of all the other individuals in the town. He has strong morals and principles when all the others do not see the need for them. It is also known that all lawyers are crooked and highly regard money against values. However, this is not the case when it comes to Atticus. He stands for what he believes to the right no matter the consequences his position might bring (Gonzalez 1). When asked by Scout why he chose to represent Tom Robinson knowing very well that he would lose the case, he said that it was his duty to and that if he had failed to represent him, he would no longer believe in himself anymore. According to him, he would no longer walk confidently through the town as he would have abandoned his strong commitment to morality, values, and principles. “The main one is if failed to, I couldn’t hold my head in town, and I couldn’t represent the county, I couldn’t even tell you not to do something again.”(Lee 135). According to Atticus, unlike what others thought, being a lawyer wasn’t just any other work; it was a personal commitment to solving problems in a legal way and to finding justice for everyone regardless of their color, age or gender (Gonzalez).
Racism is quite rampant in Maycomb and the surrounding regions. Most of the people feel that justice should only be for whites. Blacks were expected to regard themselves as being lesser beings than the whites and were, therefore, to accept any decision against them without questioning. Atticus, however, held a different view. He believed that everyone deserved to be treated fairly (Hardacre 69). This did not augur well with the majority of the townsmen as seen in the courtroom. “Let me tell you something Billy,” another said, “you know the court appointed him to defend the nigger.” “But Atticus aims to defend him. This is what I don’t like.”(Lee 92) He sees the case of Tom as one against color and though he was bound to lose, he vehemently argues it out saying that Bob Ewell was lying to the court. He points out to the jury that though a few black men may be involved in crime, it does not mean that all black people were criminals; this would not only apply to blacks but all races. Atticus according to Miss Maudie, is the same in the public streets and the court as he is in his house. According to his beliefs and values, Atticus does his best to love everybody. He looks at everybody in the community as an individual, one who deserves respect. Even those who were regarded as outcasts by the society or of inferior status had a special place in his heart.
The courageous nature of Atticus is well brought out in the way he handles various situations that he has to face in seeking for fairness and justice in the town. For choosing to represent Tom to the best of his abilities, Atticus is despised by the people and faces fierce opposition in Maycomb (Gonzalez). Blacks were lowly regarded, and it was expected that no lawyer would offer his services to a black man whose case was against other races. Atticus is therefore regarded as a nigger-lover. His children are not spared either and are insulted by other kids and even fought by grownups. For making Ewell appear as a liar through the destruction of any remaining credibility in the courtroom, Ewell vows revenge against him. He lives true to his word when he attacks the innocent and defenseless Jem and Scout while they walked home from school after a Halloween pageant, resulting in the breakage of Jem’s hand. When the crowd was baying for Tom’s blood, Atticus stands by him to protect him. He wasn’t scared of the mob despite even though he knew he was outnumbered; he was only afraid that they might hurt his kids. Atticus also received many death threats, and despite this, he continued with his stand for justice and fairness in the town.
Atticus is also presented as a compassionate character throughout the novel whether in his home, court or public places. He employs a unique parenting style in which he treats his children as adults and patiently answers all questions they have. His relationship with his children is one based on equality and respect (Hardacre 52). His children call him Atticus and not the father; this is meant to show them that they are people, not children. Instead of trying to force societal norms and values on the children, he provides instructions to the children in a teacher-like manner so that they can understand why it is important they act in a particular way. It also helps the kids to understand people’s perspectives so as not to hate them for their actions. For example, he tells the children to shoot all the mocking jays but to remember that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Atticus, therefore, acts as a teacher who teaches his children all crucial life lessons that are not taught at school so that they can grow knowing all that is good, unlike other kids. He pities Tom and takes his case even though he was a black. He says that if he did not take the case, he would not hold his head high anymore. He also stood by Tom when the crowd wanted to kill him despite the danger this might have caused.
In conclusion, Atticus is seen as the exact opposite of the town’s people. While they are inconsiderate and unreasonable, Atticus is very reasonable and sees everything from the other person’s perspective before he can judge him. While they are indifferent to the minority’s situation, Atticus is very compassionate and regards all equally.
Works Cited
Gonzalez, Chris. “Justice in To Kill a Mockingbird.” McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011.Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=149561&SID=5&iPin=ETL0728&SingleRecord=TrueGonzalez, Chris. “Race in To Kill a Mockingbird.” McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed.Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011.Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=149561&SID=5&iPin=ETL0729&SingleRecord=TrueHardacre, Kenneth. Notes On Harper Lee, To Kill A Mocking Bird. 1st ed. Bath, England: Brodie, 1976. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. 1st ed. London: Vintage Classics, 2007. Print.