Influential People In To Kill A Mockingbird

Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” As we see in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch without question prepares Scout for what she will meet and shall overcome. Atticus is not the only one that fulfills this task. Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia, Miss Maudie,Jem, Boo Radley, and even Dill influence and prepare her for the real world. Out of all the people in her life, three characters stand out as the most influential. Calpurnia, Bob Ewell, and Atticus are the three most influential people in her early life, and prepare her for the challenges she will face as an adult. Calpurnia becomes one of the most influential in Scout’s early
They learn why this is necessary for her to have, “It’s not necessary to tell you all know. It’s not lady-like —in the second place, folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do” (Lee 166). What Calpurnia means with this quote is that no one cares for a bragger or someone that boasts. Boasting is also extremely impolite and not lady-like. Calpurnia gives lessons to Scout and influences her on how to be a lady for the rest of her life. Calpurnia gives Scout an example on how to act while Bob Ewell gives her the exact opposite.
Bob Ewell sets an example for Scout of how and who not to be as a human being. He shows her what rock-bottom looks like for a human spirituality and physically. He’s the most racist being in Maycomb county that we meet in the novel. The reader doesn’t have to dig
Bob Ewell influences Scout to be a good person mentally and physically, but he does not intend to do this. Scout’s Father, Atticus, intentions are the exact opposite. Atticus Finch most certainly is the has the highest morals in all of Maycomb County. As Jem and Scout grow up, he passes his morals and ideals down to them. In Chapter 3, Atticus teaches Scout one of the most important lessons he teaches her in the novel,”You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 39). Atticus drills this lesson into her head all throughout the book because it’s such an important lesson to learn for when one becomes an adult. Throughout the Tom Robinson Trial, Atticus’s spiritual side comes to life. Not only does he fight for Thomas Robinson with all his might, he stands for what he believes in. During the closing statements of the trial he says, “The truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (Lee 273). Atticus tells nearly the town what it needs to hear. He says that we are all equal and that the wrong doings we associate with Negroes can be associated with all races. He influences Scout to stand up for what she believes in. Atticus has the biggest influence on Scout of anyone in her life. He teaches her