To Kill A Mockingbird Father Figure Essay

Father figures play a pivotal role in a child’s development. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a father figure to his biological children and their friend Dill Harris. The fatherly influence of Atticus helps the children develop empathy, and through this they gain a deeper understanding of human nature. Because of his advice, Jem Finch; Scout Finch; and Dill Harris become more socially mature. He teaches them through everyday social interactions: Jem learns not to judge people at first sight through reading to Mrs Dubose; Scout learns that everyone has their own struggles from the Ewell family; and Dill learns it is right to listen to what everyone has to say without bias from Tom Robinson. At first, Atticus irritates Jem by forcing him to read to the unfriendly Mrs Dubose, but he ends up learning a valuable lesson in a place most unexpected.

Mrs Lafayette Dubose lives down the street from the Finches. Her battle with illness and a morphine addiction inspires Jem to open his

Often, children are seen as closer to their mother; however, the novel shows that children learn valuable socials skills from father figure. On one hand, Atticus teaches the children the invisible rules of human nature essential in society by helping them develop empathy. On the other hand, Bob Ewell’s insufficient parenting puts his children in a position where Atticus must teach his children why they should care about the Ewells. Thus, the social and political settings of Maycomb are defined by the men and not how they act, but how they treat their children. Despite Atticus’s teachings of empathy, most children in Maycomb are being raised by the same people who convict the innocent Tom Robinson. Although Maycomb is a fictional town, fathers passing prejudiced values down since the 1930s is why the American South remains so viscerally racist to this