Atticus Finch Character Analysis

An All-around Good Guy Atticus Finch, the father of Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, would easily be considered a hero. He was a white lawyer for a black man in Alabama during a time of great racial tension. Unlike several of the townspeople in Maycomb County, Atticus did not care what race Tom Robinson was. He only cared that he was an innocent man. Alas, no matter how much incriminating evidence he had to show Robinson’s innocence, the racial prejudice of the jurymen sent a black man to death. Throughout the book, Atticus helps us learn several life themes such as; one cannot judge another before walking a mile in their shoes. Atticus was a good man. He was a judge free, protective, and honest man. Atticus Finch was an all-around good guy. If there was ever an unbiased man, it was Atticus Finch. When Scout first heard Atticus called a “nigger lover” she went to confront her father. “Do you defend niggers, Atticus?” “Of course I do. Don’t say nigger, Scout. That’s common.” (Lee 99). In these quotes, Atticus talks about Negros. He says of course he defends them. As if to say, ‘Why would I not?’ He then tells Scout not to say nigger, teaching his daughter that that is not an okay thing to say. Atticus does not want his daughter to grow up to be one of the racially prejudice people who locked up an innocent man in the first place, and he certainly doesn’t want her using any type of offensive language. He realizes fully that all men are created equal regardless of the color of their skin, their income, or intelligence. He is a protective man and a good father. Wise and intelligent, Atticus looks out for his children. Scout and Jem started getting bullied after their father took Tom Robinson’s case and out of spite, Scout began to fight the kids who had anything bad to say about Atticus. In response Atticus shared with her these words, “…you just hold your head high and those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your