Being Courageous The Characters of Atticus Finch

father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.” p. 10 Atticus’ close relationship with his children can also be indicated from how his children call him. He encourages his children to call him straightly using his nickname, “Atticus”, so that they can interact on terms as equal as possible. He tries to put himself equal to his children, as their friend. It makes them feel free to come after him if they have problems, questions, or anything they do not understand. It can be seen by applying Murphy’s theory of characterization 1972 in the some speeches by Scout toward Atticus: “… Listen Atticus, I don’t have to go to school” p. 85 and “Atticus, you must be wrong…” p. 109 As a father, Atticus always teaches his children positives moral values. He instills in his children with three very specific values: education, bravery, and acceptance. The importance of education for Atticus can be seen from his reading activity of the today’s news with Scout, every night before bedtime. He instills Scout with various kinds of knowledge. It can be seen from the Atticus mannerism given by Scout below. “I could not remember when the lines above Atticus’s moving finger separated into words, but I had started at them all evenings in my memory, listening to the news of the day, Bills To Be Enacted into Laws, the diaries of Lorenzo Dow – anything Atticus happened to be reading when I crawled in to his lap every night.” p. 22 On her first day in the school, Scout has problem with her new teacher, Miss Caroline. Scout is forbidden to read with Atticus anymore because her teacher thinks that what Atticus has taught is wrong. The second problem, then, is when Scout tries to explain the teacher that Walter Cunningham does not accept any gift that he cannot pay back. These problems provoke Scout to stop going to School. When Scout tells her willing not to go to School anymore because of the problems, Atticus asks Scout to post herself in her teacher’s side in order to understand her way of thinking and feeling. It can be seen from the speech below. “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kind of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider life from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” p. 34. According to Atticus if Scout puts herself in her shoes she will see that it is “an honest mistake on her part”. No one can expect her “to learn all Maycomb’s ways in one day”, and cannot hold her responsibility when she knows no better. In this situation Atticus instills Scout with the acceptance value. Atticus teaches Jem about real-courage when he sends him to read for Mrs. Dubose every day after school for a month. It is as his punishment because of destroying her Camellia flowers. Jem is provoked to do it because she says that Atticus “lawed for niggers and trash”. Unknowingly, Jem is helping the woman overcome her morphine addiction. Atticus reveals his reason to send Jem reading for the woman after she passed away, and lets them evaluate the situation for themselves. It can be seen from Atticus’s action sending Jem to Mrs Dubose’s house. “Son, I told you that if you hadnt lost your head Id have made you go read to her. 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. Its when you know youre licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” p. 116 Atticus also becomes role models in his sense of bravery by refusing to carry a gun to protect Tom Robinson from a mob and himself from Bob Ewell after he