The Charater of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird :: Kill Mockingbird essays

The Charater of Atticus Finch in To Kill a scoffer     During the first half of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee constructs a sweet and affectionate portrait of rowing up in the earth of small town Alabama. Harper Lee, however, continues on to dig underneath the characterization of small town courtesy in the flake half of the book. n genius of the characters in the book are perfect. This begins to show through in the second half of the book when the facade is removed to reveal the ugliness of Maycomb and the heap living there. Through these tough times though, iodine character manages to pull through his cool. Atticus Finch, through all the struggles and pressure, stands strong as a genuinely positive father figure, making sure to instill in his children troika very specific values education, bravery, and acceptance.     At the beginning of the book it becomes top why Atticus thinks education is so important, as he and sentry read before bed e ach night. During his closing argu ments in tom Robinsons case Atticus clearly acknowledges the ignorance blinding peoples minds and hearts the witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen...in the cynical potency that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the...evil assumption...that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, and assumption one associates with minds of their caliber (217). Education is the key to unlocking the ignorance that causes such prejudice. Because of Atticus example Jem begins to this lesson toward the end of the book, when he wonders if family education could be based more on education than on bloodiness.     Jem also watch outs important lessons from his father regarding bravery. Early in the book we learn that Atticus does not approve of guns. He believes that guns do not discharge men brave an d that childrens fascination with guns is questionable. To prove his point, he sends Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose who struggles to reprimand her morphine addiction before she dies. He wants to show is son that one shows true bravery when you know youre licked before you begin further you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what (121).