First, Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to respect everyone. When Scout is angry that Cal scolded her she suggests that Atticus fire her. His response was,”You think how much Cal does for you, and you mind her, you hear” (Lee 33). Atticus is saying that Scout should appreciate
Atticus Finch,the father of Jem and Scout teach his children the importance of empathy and how you can never truly understand someone until you put yourself in their shoes. Atticus explains to Scout it is important to think about her relationship with others before she lets her emotions take over her thoughts. When Calpurnia disciplined Scout for acting disrespectful to their guests, Scout tried to convince Atticus how she thinks he should get rid of Calpurnia and how she is no help. Scout kept ranting on how she hated Calpurnia. Atticus then says “ We couldn't operate a day without Cal, have you ever truly thought about that?
Atticus Finch says empathy is based on sympathy, on being able to see another person 's point of view and comprehend why they act the way they do even if it 's hard to agree with it. He is allocating fatherly advice to Scout by telling her that Miss Caroline was probably just trying to do her best in a new environment. This piece of advice supports Scouts development throughout the novel by making her not as agile to judge. Although Atticus is crucial to his children 's growth, he can’t give a “feminine” input which sometimes flaws his parenting, but Lee proves that good parenting requires a person to do the right thing, no matter the circumstances through fairness, perspective, and integrity. Atticus’ fairness displays he is a good parent because he considers that everyone deserves a chance to be understood and have motives for their actions.
By this definition Atticus Finch is definitely a hero, he is always courteous of others and is a gentleman through and through. Judge Taylor expresses this thought during the trial when he claims “Atticus is always courteous to everybody” (Lee 207). This quote shows that Atticus is polite even to those he is cross-examining, when most lawyers are ruthless. Atticus is also a man who is kind at home as well, when nobody is watching. “For once in his life Atticus’s instinctive courtesy had failed him” (Lee 306).
This quote shows that Scout is not, in fact, deeply hurt by her father’s choices and is actually proud of him. While she does love a good fight, Scout cares more deeply about her father and pleasing him than whatever taunting she may face. Additionally, Atticus is teaching his children morals and values by taking this case, as shown above, the benefits of which greatly outweigh any negatives from taking the
He shows compassion by taking on an impossible case and by acting friendly towards people that show hate to him. After the trial ended and Tom was found guilty, the black community of Maycomb brought food to Atticus ' doorstep and Calpurnia said: "they ‘preciate what you did." (Lee 213) Atticus tried his hardest to save Tom Robinson but the prejudices of the jury overpowered his argument. He showed compassion by putting the best case together that he could, even though the white community were shaming him for helping a person of color. Not only did Atticus show compassion towards friends, he also showed compassion to his enemy and their family.
To begin with, Atticus demonstrates moral courage through his determination to defend Tom Robinson's case, despite of what his friends and neighbors have to say. He does what he thinks is right even if other people think it's wrong. In the book it says, “I’d hoped to get through life without a case of this.”(pg 70). This quote states that Atticus is doing something out of his comfort zone, which means that he is showing courage by taking this case. In addition, in the book it says, “I'm simply defending a Negro his name's Tom Robinson.” (pg 69).
Atticus being familiar to the kind of people in Maycomb, he had a good feeling that he was going to lose the trial. “Despite the danger of a mob of men coming to lynch Tom, Atticus sits outside the jailhouse with nothing but a lamp” (Text 2). Atticus put himself in serious danger by standing up to these angry men wanting to hurt Tom. Later Scout and Jem arrive and this puts them in danger as well. “He also is willing to stand up against the odds-he knows he’s ‘licked’ before he even begins” (Text 2).
Another example of Atticus showing sympathy towards people is a case with Bob Ewell. There was a scene when Bob Ewell made a barbaric attitude by spitting in Atticus’s face, yet Atticus didn’t mind it and just simply walked away. In this scene, Atticus demonstrated a lot strength of restraint and dignity by resisting to retribute for Bob’s action. “Caring people no matter how nasty they are” is the lesson, which he taught to his son. The “mockingbirds” in this book, are innocent people who have a pure heart.
In saying this, Atticus tries to convince the audience and jury that everyone is capable of making mistakes, and differences in appearance does not mean that groups of people are superior to others. From this, the jury feels as if they have been mistreating Tom.