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To Kill a Mockingbird – Character Analysis (Atticus) Essay Example

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To Kill a Mockingbird – Character Analysis (Atticus) Essay Example
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus is very honorable, reliable, and conscientious, and he does many great things that most people back in the 1930’s wouldn’t normally do; still today, many people are not like him. Atticus acted honorably, showed wisdom, bravery, and always did the things that he felt was the right thing to do. He taught Jem and Scout to also stand up for the things that they felt were right. Because of those good things, he has many friends and is respected in Maycomb. The only bad thing is that when he agreed to defend a black person, it upset some people and even caused some people to do bad things to his family. Throughout the book, Atticus proves himself to be feeble, articulate, and benevolent.
Jem considers Atticus as feeble because Jem thinks Atticus lacks physical strength. Jem says that Atticus is a lot older than the parents of the other kids at their school. The first sentence of Chapter 10 says that, “Atticus was feeble; he was nearly fifty” (89). In the 1930’s, when this story takes place, Atticus is very old for having kids who are so young. Also, when Jem wants to play football, Atticus tells Jem that he is too old for tackling.
Atticus can be described as articulate because he is a good speaker. He talks very clearly and in distinct syllables. He carefully chooses his words so that they cannot be misinterpreted and people will understand what he means. Atticus speaks clearly in all of his conversations as a lawyer and with everyone that knows him. People in Maycomb also relied on him to write contracts and to share his point-of-view. Atticus was very articulate when he told Jem that Mrs. Dubose died and described her final wishes. Atticus shared that, “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,” and that “she took, it as a pain-killer for years. The doctor put her on it.” (111) Atticus carefully explained to Jem what Mrs. Dubose’s final wishes were and why she acted the way that she did.
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