How Is Atticus Portrayed In To Kill A Mockingbird

Words: 509
Pages: 3

“To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee around the 1960’s, presents the racism of the past to their readers. Throughout the book Scout grew up under the care of her father, Atticus, a very unbiased and mature lawyer. When her father was given the case to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man, Scout and her brother Jem soon discover the prejudice society around them. Though Atticus eventually lost the case, his children learned to not assume someone’s personality based on their society around them, like Boo Radley. Harper Lee uses symbolism such as characters and animals life lessons.

Lee expresses the mockingbird as a selfless person. Though there truly aren’t any mockingbirds physically, she does illustrate the metaphorical mockingbirds in the story such as Boo and Tom Robinson. Both can be portrayed as mockingbirds due to their kindness
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Though Atticus was Caucasian and was incredibly respected in Maycomb, he decided to help Tom Robinson, an African American. Though he lost the case, he put all of his effort into saving this man’s life without the care of the society’s judgement around him. Harper Lee explains, “He was sitting in one of his office chairs, and he was reading, oblivious of the nightbugs dancing over his head (p.201),”. Despite clear and present dangers, many other characters, like Atticus defended the “mockingbirds”.

As Harper Lee expresses in the book, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because all a mockingbird does is good. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee uses her theme to produce the mockingbirds, the shooters, and the victims, as the characters in this story. Though the good events and the bad, the book allowed the readers to visualize the prejudice society at the time. Going through many heartbreaking experiences allowed Scout to observe different people’s perspectives in their everyday