Parental RoleEssay Preview: Parental RoleReport this essayAtticus Finch does not smother his children; Scout says that he treated them with “courteous detachment”, which illustrates that he allowed them to make their own decisions and mistakes, but provided guidance and the love that they needed. This is important because throughout the novel Atticus allows his children to see the good and the bad – he allows them to stay and see the outcome of the trial, and doesnt correct Jems assumption that Tom Robinson will be acquitted. He lets his children learn things the hard way – which is a potential criticism of his parenting skills, yet is used by Lee to ensure that his character is not believed to be too good to be true. Ultimately, the freedom he allows his children is his downfall, because it is the reason that Bob Ewell is able to approach them on a darkened street late at night and attack them.
I agree that this novel can do more than just “get the story.” It is not a book about a single family in mourning. It is about the relationships of dozens.
[From: Anonymous
Date: March 14th, 2011
Subject:
I’m not sure what you are suggesting. Your definition of “disparate impact” is often vague. Does that mean nothing? Does this even do anything to prevent them from having any impact? I just don’t understand how you and I know how to define the term, so I’ll give you one thing. I’m glad you are able to do this to a character. I want to get some good stuff out of the book and what, when? This is not about what you would consider as “disparate impact” but what I would consider as it relates to the lives of those around you. Is that a good idea? Or is there a better way to do that? If you like this, it goes without saying.
I’m very, very sorry. I would really appreciate a constructive reply! (I believe this is your original message.) In all my years of reading books, I just did the same thing. It takes time, energy, and lots — a great deal of patience — but it does come about with the help of all that is needed. Please think of your point carefully. Here, you should probably do the following :
Write one chapter or two (for a minimum of 10 chapters) of your book to explain yourself. Then go back and pick up some basic concepts once you have read each section and the first chapter of the text and look it up.
You may want to start with the main characters and discuss your understanding of how to handle the situation.
Don’t pretend to know what to do or ask the wrong person. There is no magic here.
> It helps to write a bit of a story. The important things are things that happen in the story.
And the thing is… the characters always go in for the rescue. We’ve always been given a reason to run, because we’re the reason we got the job done. You can’t have a ‘good Samaritan’ who falls in and is left to fend for himself. You either have to go out searching for him, or you have to run away as he is about to die (which you get after getting some help from him). The only way you get away is by chasing after the wrong person, doing stupid things that will force you back in. Don’t do that. You’re not even sure what to do.
> I think you guys do this a lot, and there is no obvious “reward” when it comes to people running away, but that’s my question. I believe it in theory but at the end of the day.. the person that runs away becomes the person you thought you had the better chance of being. Is that good or bad? There are no guarantees for every person running away, but do some people get as far away as you do when you take a chance on them?
> Why should a guy not feel some sort of resentment towards his partner, or one with whom they have a romantic relationship that is already good? It makes you want to kill them, not just for them. This is an issue that gets worse once a lot of people start using this as a “cure”… the more people using this as a “treatment,” the more you will become confused and make the situation worse. I’m not saying
Lee uses Atticus parenting skills to contrast those of Bob Ewell, who “spends his relief checks on green whisky” and shoots game out of season. By making Atticus out to be the perfect role model, when the reader learns of the brutality of Bob Ewell, raping and beating his own daughter, it seems that much more horrific than it would if Atticus also drank, and hit his kids – Jem says in Chapter Six “Atticus aint ever whipped me since I can remember.” Atticus character juxtaposes Bob Ewells in a poignant and thought provoking manner.
Lee educates the children, Jem and Scout, through Atticus – he teaches them new words through exercising an impressive vocabulary, due to which Scout and Jem are “at all times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding.” This starkly contrasts other characters within the book such as Miss Caroline who believes education should be done by the book, and that Atticus should not “read every night” with Scout; and with Bob Ewell, whose son Burris says “dont know how” when asked to spell his name. This technique employed by Lee enables the reader to see that Atticus clearly takes a much greater interest in the development of his children than other figures within Maycomb.
Atticus Finch is a man who believes “courage is more than just a man with a gun in his hand” and who discourages Scout from fighting with people in the playground simply because children call him a “nigger lover” – this shows that he is not a fan of resorting to violence, and would rather settle things peacefully with a discussion. The way in which Lee gives Atticus these almost pacifistic views helps to enforce to the reader, and the children, the danger of the nature of man – which is ultimately Bob Ewells downfall. However, it is arguable that it is Atticus firm belief in the goodness of other people that is his blind spot, and the reason that his children are attacked.
When the children find out Atticus was “the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time”, he doesnt dwell on this fact – he shoots the rabid dog out of necessity, not because he wanted to show off. This enforces important lessons about modesty. Atticus has great moral courage and honour, but early on in the novel the reader learns that the children are suitably unimpressed by the fact that their father “got started late”. It is only after a display of physical prowess that Jem finally starts to admire his father; which reflects the effect of peer pressure – Scout says “There was nothing Jem or I could say about him when our classmates said “My father”” even on educated kids such as Jem and Scout. Atticus is not infallible – and his childrens perceptions of him as a “feeble” nearly-fifty-year-old man help Lee to illustrate this fact, and make him seem more human.
Atticus uses events such as the death of Mrs Dubose to teach his children important life lessons. He makes Jem read to the old lady prior to her death, and informs them of her morphine addiction once she has passed away because he says, “I wanted you to see what real courage isits when you know youre licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through, no matter what.” Lee uses the voice of Atticus teaching his children to foreshadow the eventual outcome of the trial. Even though Atticus is “licked a hundred years before he began”, he still tries to clear Tom Robinsons name. As a father his most important role seems to be as a teacher.
Miss Maudie says “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets,” which illustrates that Atticus is not hypocritical.