Heroism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Modern heroes have to be brave, strong and smart. Even in Winnie the Pooh, they understand that heroism has changed. “Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh) Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is not so different, it also has a pretty obvious example of a modern hero. The novel takes place during the Great Depression and is about two young children (Jem and Scout ) who are exposed to the harsh reality of the society as they grow up. Since their father (Atticus ) is defying racism and he defends a black men convicted with fake charges, they are brought in contact with the hate of the community. Throughout the book, we
At school, Scout is being treated unfairly, so she heads straight to Atticus for comfort. He tells her that “ ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--’ ‘Sir?’ ‘-- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’ ” (Lee 39) Atticus proves he is wise and understands more about society than anyone else. He has noticed that you need to see both perspectives to get the whole picture, this is something many people never realize in life. Atticus is bold in this way because he sees the big picture and this leads to him being a good lawyer. In a court, you need to see both sides of the argument and Atticus shows this by making the jury take more than the normal amount of time to decide if Tom Robinson is guilty. He saw through Mayella's story, but he understood why she was scared and so he proved that Bob beat up his daughter not Tom. Although the jury did not side with Atticus in the end, he put up a fair fight and was able to prove a lot more than some other lawyers would. This is probably why Judge Taylor chose Atticus. Another reason why Judge Taylor could have chosen Atticus is because of his belief in equality. When Jem invites Walter Cunningham into the Finch’s house, Atticus is not discriminatory and tries to make Walter feel welcomed into the house. “Atticus shook his head at me again.” Mr.Finch’s kind actions show that he does not want to make Walter feel uncomfortable at the table, because to him, they are all equals there. He does not like it when Scout calls Walter out on the odd movements he is doing and makes small talk with the young boy to not seclude him as a guest. Most people in that time ( ex. Aunt Alexandra ) would be more focused on social class than equity. Since Atticus believes in everyone being equal in his house and outside of it, and he has wisdom about