Atticus Finch Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the 1930’s south, racism was at its peak, but one man with contrasting ideas, was willing to sacrifice his entire social standing to defend a negro. In Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Scout’s father, Atticus, taught her many things. He taught her how to shoot, not to fight, and most importantly, to stand up for her values. Atticus showed his children the importance of protecting their beliefs on a few occasions: when he took on Tom Robinson’s case, when he protected them from the mad dog, and when he raised them to judge upon character, not appearance. First and foremost, when Atticus took Tom’s case upon himself, he showed the importance of doing what you think is right, regardless of the consequences. He was willing to take the hit on his reputation and public image to defend his values. One of the times the reader really got to see Atticus’ inner turmoil that was established from Tom’s case was when he had his conversation with Scout’s uncle, Jack. “...Do you think I could face my children otherwise?”(Lee, 100) In this quote, we can

“‘I haven’t shot a gun in thirty years’…’Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County…he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today.’”(109-112) In this dialogue, the reader can see that Atticus shot the dog because he had to. Even though he believed that he had an unfair advantage, he knew he needed to do it to protect the people close to him. “‘Maybe it slipped his mind,’[Scout] said…He called back:’Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!’”(113) This excerpt shows that Atticus taught his children yet another lesson, that people shouldn’t boast about their talents. They also learned that bragging about your accomplishments is rude, and that people have the right to keep things from others. Atticus shooting the mad dog and revealing his secret both taught his children more life lessons, ones they couldn’t ever learn in