Qualities of Atticus Finch

Qualities of Atticus Finch

Many people act differently around different people and in different places. They put on faces in order to impress and to be accepted. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, many people are not who they seem to be and have different sides to their personalities that are only seen in certain places or around certain people. Atticus Finch is an example to his children, and to the rest of the town, of an honest man who never pretends to be anyone he isn’t.

“Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”. Through these words Miss Maudie tells us a lot about Atticus’ character and his many qualities.

Miss Maudie meant that Atticus didn’t ever put on faces or pretend that he was someone that he wasn’t while in different circumstances. She meant that he was an extremely honest person who was always truthful and didn’t have double standards. This is shown throughout the novel by Atticus’ unfailing consistency and honesty. He had a strong sense of himself and what he believed in. Atticus demonstrated this when he accepted the case of Tom Robinson whilst knowing that he would lose and that he and his children would be severely criticised by many members of the community that they lived in.

Atticus always listened to people and would think and reflect on what they said before responding. However, if he didn’t think that they would like his answer he wouldn’t respond so as not to cause conflict or compromise his values and beliefs by making up an answer that they’d accept.

I think that Atticus’ most important quality is his high sense of integrity. His truthfulness and honour is demonstrated constantly in the novel, in the way he raises his children and does his job. He was always very sincere and had a high regard for human life.

Atticus set a standard of morality that no other character in the book came close to matching. I think that he had a strong sense of his purpose in life, which he believed was to do his job well and raise his children well, combining his values into both tasks. This is shown when he took Tom Robinson’s case, as his beliefs didn’t allow him to refuse it and his only real concern was the effect it might have on his children.

One of Atticus’ qualities was the way in which he conveyed his values and opinions in a manner that made others consider them and question their own beliefs. He didn’t argue, threaten of laugh at a contradicting point of view, but stated his views calmly and politely but with no hint of doubt in his voice. He did this repeatedly in the court trial, asking the jury to...

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