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Prompt 1
A Role Model Parenting Style of Atticus to His Children
In the novel, ToKill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays Atticusas both a best friend and father and to his children, Jem and Scout. The element bestexemplify Atticus’s parenting style that Scout and Jem call him by his own first name. As a widower, Atticus has never been able to provide the children with the exact feminine touch but has a good sense by employing a housekeeper, Calpurnia, who is strong-minded to lend her helping hand.Atticus in the novel has been demonstrated as a wise man, who is committed to equality and justice, while his parenting style has grounded on fostering such virtues in the children whereby, he further encourages them to call him by his first name, Atticus, in effort to interact as equally as possible.
In demonstrating equality and justice to his children, Atticus first shows that he understands the community’s shared set of values that would differentiate between good and evil. For instance, the author writes, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 88). In this remark, Atticus portrays a mockingbird as a representation of goodness, where he teaches children about how to differentiate between good and evil while seeking justice. The mockingbird’s virtue is affirmed by Scout when she responds that “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens…” (Lee 88). Therefore, killing a mockingbird can be associated with abolishing innocence, and such an act is evil.
Atticus further in showing equality and justice to the children explains that understanding the people’s values and behavior is the root of empathy. For example, the writer says, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 32). In this respect, Atticus acts as a model to his children with a personality that values other people regardless of race. Instead, they support what is right and just, without considering the societal perspective. Further, the author states, “An’ they chased him ‘n’ never could catch him ’cause they didn’t know what he looked like, an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things … Atticus, he was real nice …” (Lee 263). Once more, Atticus teaches the children the importance of empathizing with the perspectives of other people. Even when Atticus is personally in conflict morally with the Maycomb culture, he is still driven by his belief that all people, regardless of race, are decent people.
The noble father, Atticus, furthermore portrays his children the significance of treating all people with equality and justice regardless of their age. Pee notes that “Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But don’t make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults…” (Lee 85). The father here shows that there is never a need to claim authority over the children, but instead, the adults should lead them by example, by considering them more like their peers rather than mere kids. The narrator still says, “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life.” (Lee 80). Notwithstanding the criticism of Aunt Alexandra, Atticus inspires his children to dress and act according to their wishes. Atticus shows the importance of valuing children’s rights and trustingthemwithout trying to force them some social customs.
Ultimately, this analysis has proved that Atticus has been committed to equality and justice, and his parenting style has been based on fostering these virtues in his children. Atticus portrays a role model parenting style by teaching his children several lessons on how to become dignified and honest personalities later in their life in an effort to show justice and equality to all people regardless of their background.
Prompt 7
How Jem and Scout Change in the Course of the Novel and How They Still Remain the Same
Scout lives with Atticus, her father, Jem, her brother, and Calpurnia, the family’s black cook in Maycomb. Scout possesses an aggressive streak with also an elementary faith in the people’s goodness in their community. As the narrative progresses, her hope is swayed by the prejudice and hatred that emerge in the trial of Tom Robinson. Jem has been a Scout’s constant playmate at the start of the novel. Although he progressively separates himself from Scout’s games, Jem remains a close protector and companion throughout thestory. In due course, Scout developed a more mature perspective that enabled her to value human goodness while considering social evil. Simultaneously, Jem moved into his adolescence in the narrative, but his ideals got shaken severely by the injustice and evil that he perceived during Tom Robinson’s trial.
Scout first encounters human evil when she first joins the school and eager to study, and her innocence starts to change. Miss Caroline, her teacher, becomes upset when she learns that Scout already has the reading skills. The teacher advises Scout to avoid beingtaught by her father since it is “best to begin reading with a fresh mind” (Lee 23). This aspect confuses Scout since she cannot recognize how shining at reading would possibly be that wrong. This experience is Scout’s first encounter with the adults who perceive that old ways are the solitary correct that represents her early innocence loss.The author writes, “Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country, our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts, all men are created equal” (Lee 193). Here, even though the rest of the town’s community wants Tom Robinson, a black man, to be killed for allegedlyraping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, Atticus takes his case and devotes himself to his best in defending the black man. Eventually, the court finds him guilty, despite the defense of Atticus. This aspect results in the most critical innocence loss for Scout after she observesthe firsthand that life has never been fairwhile sometimes even innocent people lose.
On the same note, Jem values being innocent and doing just to other people regardless of being one’s family members or not changes drastically in the novel. For instance, Pee writes, “Aunty, Jem spoke up, Atticus says you can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t.” (Lee 210). Jem here is always doing his best to ensure he lives up to his father’s decency example. Again, as time goes, Jem begins to mature as he spends much less time with his sister but spending more with Dill. The attitude of Jem progressively is changing as he starts to behave more aloof and supercilious towards their aunt.
Further, Atticus imparts the children’s knowledge on the importance of allowing for flexibility in life decision making. The children’s first lesson on being flexible during decision making occurs when Atticus teaches that in some moments, it is essential to bend the rules as the narrators put it as, “sometimes it is better to bend the law a little in special cases” (Lee 33).However, Jem later loses his youthful innocence just after witnessing Robinson becoming a victim of the existing racial injustice. Hence following Robinson’s trial, Jem has become fed-up with the racist neighbors, and therefore his childhood innocence is lost.
In due course, it is evident that in the novel, Scout developed a more mature perspective that helped her further value the human goodness as she considered a social evil.Scout changed throughout the book by learning how to exercise empathy, tolerance, and a mature perspective while growing in understanding human nature. Sheapplies the lessons learned from Atticus in her life, especially in her moral behavior. Jem was entirely crushed by the court’s verdict about Tom’s case and changed his childhood innocence.The children learned in the results of Tom’s trial that life has never been and can never be fair, a point where they had to consider approaching life from a new perspective.
Work Cited
Lee, Harper. To kill a mockingbird. Random House, 2010.