While both Mayella and Boo grew up with parents that inflicted cruelty upon them, Jem and Scout were raised in a positive yet unusual way. As Scout says, “he played with us, read to us… treated us with a courteous detachment” (6) Atticus did tasks most fathers would, as Scout says, “he played with us, read to us… treated his children with a courteous detachment” (6). Through off-hand parenting, Scout and Jem were taught how to think and solve problems for themselves while still receiving a respectful kindness from their father. The way Atticus brought up his children helped them mature throughout the novel and it is reflected in the difference between their choices at the beginning and end of the story. Their father’s views on disciplining