The Character Of Atticus Finch In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the story follows a family of two children and their father. The father, Atticus, is a lawyer who gets appointed a case of a color man, Tom Robinson, who is faced with charges from a white woman, Mayella Ewell, who claims he took advantage of her. As Atticus navigates through the case, his willingness to prove Mr. Robinson’s innocence causes the town to give him and his children backlash. He guides his children to have good morals and values in a tough time in their life as they navigate the society they live in. He sets ethics which are unique to the standard morals of the time period of this story. Atticus’s character is truly unique to that time period, and there is much more to his character that can be further elaborated on.

Throughout the book Atticus is described to be not as masculine as the other men in the town. He is in his 50s and he does not engage in rough work due to his age, so he is a very collected, civilized, and calm person, who thinks through his answers. Atticus is very aware of his power over life so he remains civilized, as he was described as the best shooter in Maycomb; however, he does not pride himself in that and he does not take up shooting as a hobby, as he would not like the advantage he has over living things and only uses his skills when of use. Atticus is also shown to be very genuine as he remains the same in his house and in public as stated by one of his neighbors, Miss Maudie Atkinson, “...Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” Also, Atticus is very open-minded as he does not believe being colored is a mistake and he does not believe in subjecting a race to stereotypes as stated on page 273 by Atticus, “Do you know the truth, and the truth is: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women-black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. In conclusion, Atticus’s character radiates a sense of high morals and acceptance of everyone.

As mentioned previously, Atticus is so calm and collected, so his demeanor and behavior reflects his character. When Atticus is confronted with a situation in which his son was attacked and may have killed Bob Ewell in the process of self defense, however it was proved that Mr. Ewell accidently killed himself, despite this Atticus refused to rule this out as an accident and have legal work done, but he was later convinced otherwise. He also wanted Jem to read to one of the neighbors, Mrs.Dubose, for ruining her flowers because of the rude remarks she had stated. After reading to her for a month, she passed away, and Atticus explained he wanted his son to read to her to break her addiction so she would die without being an addict, thus showing his children that what Mrs.Dubose did instead of dying peacefully is real courage and not a man being able to shoot well. These behaviors have been shown to be motivated in some form to help his children have a good example as shown on page 366 “Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I've tried to live so I can look squarely back at him...If I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn't meet his eye, and the day I can't do that I'll know I've lost him. I don't want to lose him and Scout, because they're all I've got.” Atticus wants to show his children a good example by not showing that being masculine and tough is equivalent to courage but good morals and acknowledging defeat, but still trying. In summary, these are some of the motivation for Atticus Finch’s behaviors.

Throughout the story, his main conflict revolves around the case that Atticus Finch was appointed to. Atticus shows willingness to prove his defendant’s innocence, who is a person of color, this causes the town to talk badly about Atticus in front of him and his children. Atticus is warned and told by people to not be so eager for the case, but Atticus must push on and defend his values by defending this man to set an example for his children. On page 202-207 Atticus gets cornered by men who were willing to harm him to get to his defendant and at the same time protect his children, who are present. With the help of his perseverance and others, Atticus tries his hardest in court, but he loses, and during the time of his appeal, his defendant is shot in an attempt to escape prison. Despite his loss in court and the loss of his defendant he is able to bring a change in his jury as they deliberate and think in favor of Mr. Robinson, as he was able to diminish the credibility of the Ewells and from becoming the good people they made themselves out to be as stated on page 335, “He thought he'd be a hero, but all he got for his pain was... was, okay, will convict this Negro get but get back to your dump.” Also as time passed everything settle the previous routine before the case. In conclusion, this was the conflicts of Atticus Finch and how they were resolved. The book To Kill a Mockingbird displays a story of a family in an unpleasant time in their lives due to the backlash of that time’s society. As the book progresses, the change that Atticus is able to bring out in his children is very beautiful. The development of his children and the maturity that is brought out in them, as they stop pestering the neighborhood recluse, Athrur “Boo” Radley, they are able to see life his way and be able to accept his differences. Atticus’s character was able to bring a change in character in a positive and ethical path. In essence, this was an analysis on the character Atticus Finch and his life.