Essay On Atticus Finch

A New Perspective

It is extremely common place for the people in the small southern town of Maycomb to be stubborn, racist, and unforgiving. However, Atticus Finch, an outstander, seems to have a different view on things. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus’ glasses symbolize his power to see things from a different perspective. Unlike the typical Maycombian, Atticus knows that racial boundaries and stubbornness cannot carry on the developing world.

Early on in the novel, Atticus’ glasses show how he not like most of the other men in Maycomb. We see Atticus characterized this way: “Besides that, he wore glasses. He was nearly blind in his left eye, and said left eyes were the tribal curse of the Finches. Whenever

Atticus must shoot a mad dog in the head. In doing so, he removes his glasses: “Atticus pushed his glasses to his forehead; they slipped down, and he dropped them in the street. In the silence, I heard them crack. Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin; we saw him blink hard” (Lee 99). When Atticus “pushed his glasses to his forehead,” he is attempting to see what he is about to. He knows that killing is wrong, so “he dropped them in the street.” Atticus could not bear to watch as he went against what he believed. Any other person with a shot as good as Atticus’ would have shot the dog without question. But unlike the others, Atticus makes one last attempt as he “blinks hard,” to try to fathom what his actions will do. He wants to give the dog a chance, much like how he wants to give Tom Robinson a chance. However, he knows that in Maycomb, some things just do not one. For him to realize this he must remove his unrealistic view in which he wants the world to live in. Harper Lee writes: “I heard them crack.” Atticus realizes his way of looking at the world may never come true. It will never be a world of peace without discrimination. Although Atticus’ good morals towards the dog broke along with his glasses, he still believes in