ATTICUS FINCH CHARACTER ESSAY

“The novel is a love story pure and simple. My love of the south , a fathers love for his children and the love they give him in return.” Discuss Harper Lee’s statement in relation to the character of Atticus Finch.
INTRO Within this essay I will be discussing Atticus Finch and his relationship, with not only his children but towards Maycomb County. Atticus Finch is a complex character, often portrayed as a figure of isolation, wifeless and alone in his conquest to fight against prejudice within Maycomb, within this essay I will take a closer look at the character of Atticus Finch, and whether he truly is the hero that Scout and Jem want him to be.
RELSHIP+HERO It is clear from the off that Atticus Finch, unlike many figures throughout Maycomb county, fathers his children, not through violence or sporadic beatings, but through the medium of education. As a lone parent, Atticus often gives the appearance of being isolated and even distant from his children- and it is quite fair to say he raises them with a hands off approach, indeed Scout describes her father as treating herself and Jem with ‘courteous detachment.’ The way in which Scout and Jem view their ‘feeble’ father changes through the book. Whilst clearly, they always respected their father and his occasional words of wisdom, it could be argued that they were never fully engaged with him and often wished he was like other dads, indeed Scout even bemoaned her father’s boring lifestyle claiming ‘Our father didn’t do anything.’ The fact that scout thought of her father really ighlights the fact that in maycomb county, physical acts of manly strength were recognised like ‘farm, or working in a garage’, indeed Scouts critisizm of her father goes deeper with her describing his wearing of glasses as a weakness. This whole description of Atticus is riddled with irony, as Atticus is the only one in Maycomb County that is indeed doing anything of signifance, and the fact that he spends his time inside reading, is not admired or even respected by his children, as they, like the rest of Maycomb county are fixed upon generalisations of a good father being a sporty, physical, hard labouring man. Working on a court case that could be the start of the liberation of Maycomb county is not recognised. One could argue that Atticus only truly won the respect of his children, when he shot down the mad dog. Scout’s opinion is drastically changed, however, when Tim Johnson, an old dog, turns up, walking down the street towards the Finch’s house. It is immediately obvious that Tim is not healthy, and it soon becomes apparent that he is in fact rabid, and thus highly dangerous. And although initially unwilling, Atticus realises his duty to his community, and shoots the mad dog. Maudie Atkinson later tells Scout and Jem that Atticus was once ‘the deadest shot in Maycomb County.’ The children are shocked that their seemingly boring and non-violent father was actually a great marksman, and in a rather bemausing way atticus becomes a hero for his children, not for his intellect or kindness, but for this act of violence.
The incident involving Tim Johnson is a powerful symbol for one of the key themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. The mad dog has become mindless, uncontrollable and dangerous, so it is necessary to shoot it. Atticus is the only one who steps up to confront the mad dog, foreshadowing how he is also the only one who stands up against prejudice as shown later in the book by his brave defence of the innocent Tom Robinson in the face of a bigoted jury. This highlights Atticus’s isolation within the county, it is him, and him alone that has to shoot the mad dog, and whilst this temporarily makes him a ‘hero’ figure, it is also him on his lonesome that has to shoot down prejudice.
PERFECT SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN In Atticus Finch, author Harper Lee has created the nearperfect liberal Southern gentleman. His faults are few, and he is role model not only for his children, but also for the townspeople of Maycomb. Most of the citizens recognize this: Atticus is elected each term without opposition as Maycomb's representative to the Alabama legislature. He is the attorney the people turn to when they are in need of legal aid, and Atticus accepts compensation in any manner whenever his clients can afford to pay, for example when the Cunnighams pay him in kind. Hey pays the utmost respect to mrs dubose despite her horrible profanities towards him, he addresses Mayellea Ewell, the lowest of all in Maycomb county as ‘mrs’. Indeed , in the court scene, mayella accuses atticus of ‘ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' . The irony here is that Mayella Ewell feels insulted because she has never been treated poilitely by anyone, and feels patronised that atticus is talking to her in such a formal manner, when in reality all this shows is the cruel cold world of the ewell household. No one in the county respects mayella, no one would think of addressing her as ‘mrs’ or ‘ma’am’ other than Atticus, the perfect southern gentleman.
Atticus is color-blind when it comes to the races, and he treats people that he meets on the streets just as he would in his home. He teaches the children about how real courage is not "a man with a gun in his hand." Ashamed of his own ability as a marksman and uneasy with his children's desire to use a gun, Atticus refuses to divulge his secret about once being known as "One-Shot" Finch. Despite his busy schedule, Atticus always finds time to read to Scout each evening. He shows necessary restraint when he refuses to fight Bob Ewell after being spit upon, and he never fails to act as a gentleman, even in front of the very worst of maycombc county.
FAILURE However Atticus has some flaws. He possibly subjects his children to risks that could have been avoided, For example Bob Ewell would have not attacked them if their father was not representing Tom. Indeed atticus underestimated bob ewells threat, which almost resulted in the death of Jem. And indeed it must be remembered, that despite his best efforts he didn’t succeed in his case. Tom robinson, an innocent man, died because of his failure as a lawyer. Yes he may of took a ‘baby step’ as Mrs Maudie likes to say, but is that good enough? Atticus put the lives of his children in jeproady, ruined his professional reputation, isolated himself within the community, and for what? For a baby step? Whilst atticus is considered a hero and a perfect southern gentleman, and idol for his children, it must be questioned: is atticus a failure?