How Is Atticus Finch Learned In To Kill A Mockingbird

Who have you learned the most about life from? Is it your father, mother, siblings or other significant figure in your life? In “To Kill a Mockingbird” (TKM) by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch was one of the most influential characters mentioned in the book. Atticus teaches his two children, Scout and Jem, then at the end of the book learns a valuable lesson himself. This essay will identify and explain key scenes that shows Atticus has helped others in coming of age.
First , Atticus helps Scout mature by teaching her about the perspective of others. For example, on page 39 of TKM it says, “First of all,’ he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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. Atticus said I had learned many things today” This dialogue represents one of many of Atticus’s teaching moments. He tells Scout that she needed to think about things from someone else’s point of view or perspective. It is important to realize that Atticus then comments to Scout that she has learned much that day, which also tells us that he recognizes her as coming of age. In addition, this teaching moment helped Scout be prepared for the future when she encounters other moments when she needs to consider the perspective of someone else.
Second, Atticus helps Jem learn what true courage is when he has him read to Mrs. Dubose. On page 149 it reads, “I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Mrs. Dubose was a mean, old, racist women who inspired fear in Jem. Jem had the wrong idea of what a man with courage was. But in other words, Atticus taught Jem that courage isn’t having a gun in your hand, but going into something knowing that you’ve already lost, even then, sometimes you win.
Finally, despite being a character who had taught much to many others, Atticus himself was taught a great lesson at the end of the book by sheriff Heck Tate and Scout.
On page 369 and 370 it says, “To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight-to me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it’d be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch”... then Scout sways Atticus over , “I ran to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might. ‘Yes sir, I understand,’ I reassured him, ‘Mr. Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” Sheriff Tate, a man of justice, makes the moral choice of announcing Bob Ewell’s death an accident instead of choosing the legal choice of putting Arthur Radley on the spot. Heck told Atticus that it would be a sin, then after he leaves, Scout goes up to Atticus hugging him and saying that Heck was right. So it was for this rationale, that after his own daughter convinced him, Atticus had learned that there are some moral decisions we should choose legal ones
over.
In the final analysis of Atticus, he is an excellent character from whom we learn coming of age topics and lessons. Throughout TKM, he teaches his children the valuable lessons of courage and the perspectives of others as shown above. Atticus then learns himself that there are some moral decisions to be made instead of following the law. Coming of age happens throughout our entire lives as Atticus demonstrates in TKM. Be grateful for the lessons that come with coming of age, for they will change your world.