“...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.”
Atticus says this to Jem, about their dying neighbor. This struck me as something of a defining moment of chracterization for Atticus. Atticus who has notorious aim but hates having to use it. Atticus who’s defending a black man in court even though it’s earning he and his family the town’s disapproval. Atticus who sent his son over to help a suffering old woman, even as she - from Scout’s point of view at least- spewed vitriol about he and his family. In the eyes of his daughter Scout, Atticus is a good man, although she doesn’t yet understand quite what that means. One question does remain however, and it’s even been called out in the book by a member of the Finch extended family. Why do Scout and Jem call their father ‘Atticus’?
I also noticed that Atticus's character developed a lot in this section. I find your style of writing interesting and I like how you ended with a question - one that is most likely on everyone's mind. Because the story is written from Scout's point of view, do you think the view of Atticus that we see is skewed by Scout's perspective?
ReplyDeleteThank you, and I do think that Scout as a narrator is far from unbiased. I don't want to spoil anything, but this becomes much more obvious in section three of the book.
DeleteI agree that this is a defining moment of characterization for Atticus since he also refuses to teach Jem and Scout to use their rifles. He realizes how important it is to set an example for his children. Also, you just made me have a epiphany. I did not realize that they refer to Atticus as Atticus and not dad. However I feel that this is just because of the time period.
ReplyDeleteI thought so too, but when they visited Finch's Landing, their extended family thought it was odd that they called him Atticus, or more precisely, they thought that it was another sign of how poorly he was doing raising Jem and Scout on his own.
DeleteI barely realized that Jem and Scout referred to their father as "Atticus", however their mother isn't referred to by her first name. But then again, it may be the fact that their mother(who passed away)is only mentioned briefly in the introduction.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that they started calling Atticus by his first name after their mother died, although I don't remember when exactly that was. The book doesn't really talk about her much.
DeleteI barely realized that Jem and Scout referred to their father as "Atticus", however their mother isn't referred to by her first name. But then again, it may be the fact that their mother(who passed away)is only mentioned briefly in the introduction.
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