Atticus Mother Figure Analysis

Improved Essays
A mother; one who is there to protect their loved ones fiercely, one who loves and cares for their family unconditionally, and one who will relinquish anything in order to provide a good life for their children. By possessing each of these characteristics, anyone has the potential to be considered a mother figure. Over the course of the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee indicates how Scout, a young girl, is contrastingly mothered by her father, Atticus, and their cook, Calpurnia due to the fact that her biological mother passed away. Throughout the story, Calpurnia is strict and understanding whereas Atticus is relaxed and mature, but are both successful in raising Scout to be a loving, respectful, and determined young lady. Although …show more content…
Atticus consistently tries to instill in Scout to build her own path, to be sympathetic, and also to be caring. In her worst times, Atticus is always there to comfort Scout and give her advice. For instance, when Scout came home from school upset with her teacher, Atticus reminded her, “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”(30). He emphasizes how no one should judge another person until they truly get to know them. Miss Caroline was a newcomer to Maycomb and has not yet become accustomed to the town’s ways. Scout is told that she must have patience and be respectful of her new teacher’s practices as they will most likely benefit her in the end. Also, after Mrs. Dubose passes away, Atticus explains to Scout …show more content…
As the maid and cook, she spends the whole day with the children. Calpurnia has a tendency to be strict; however, she is also incredibly loving towards Scout. Being a female as well, she has the ability to understand how Scout is hurt when Jem begins to mature. Reassuringly, Calpurnia tells Scout, “Baby, I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growin’ up. He’s gonna want to be off by himself a lot now, doin’ whatever boys do, so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome” (115). Benevolently, Calpurnia realizes how Jem’s aging is affecting Scout and makes sure that she will always be available if Scout needs a shoulder to lean on. Her generosity illustrates how much Calpurnia sincerely cares for Scout and treats her as one of her own children. In addition, Calpurnia is extremely protective of Scout, no matter the cost. When a rabid dog is endangering Scout, Calpurnia “...latched it behind her, then unlatched it and held onto the hook. She tried to block Jem and me with her body” (95). This displays how Calpurnia put herself at risk in order to shield and defend Scout from harm. All mothers have a instinct such as this and always attempt to keep their children safe. Consequently, Calpurnia is undoubtedly an important motherly figure in Scout’s

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    However, while Scout disapproved, Calpurnia says, “Yo' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin' the way you're disgracin' ' em-if you can't act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen” (24-25). While Scout had listened to this command, she is not only teaching herself to respect a person for their own actions, but she is also teaching the reader how important it is to think and question…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Model Parent Atticus Finch is the father of the protagonist Scout and her brother Jem in the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is definitely evident that he is a good parent to his two children. Atticus is an exemplary father due to his sense of fairness and his good morals. First and foremost, Atticus Finch is a very fair man to his children because he always takes their opinions into account.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "To Kill A Mockingbird" Throughout the story of " To Kill A Mockingbird " Scout will learn how to use empathy and show compassion to solve disagreements between her and fellow residents of Maycomb. Being a ' Tom boy ' in Scouts society is not ideal for women. Aunt Alexandra would like for Scout to act more feminine despite Scout having no interest in doing so. Scouts new teacher, Miss Caroline, would like to control the rate in which Scout learns to read. This would include not letting Atticus read to scout every night like he usually does.…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At home, Scout is very disrespectful and ungrateful towards her nanny, Calpurnia. She only sees Calpurnia as someone who bosses her around and likes to get her into trouble. She thinks Calpurnia does not like her since she always compares Scout to Jem asking “why [Scout could not] behave like Jem” (7). She has a closed off mind right now, so she does not understand the situation from Calpurnia’s perspective, making her socially immature. However, when Calpurnia takes her to the black church Scout starts thinking differently about her nanny.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    She is one of the few blacks in Maycomb that is educated, and well. Calpurnia is the cook and housekeeper of the Finch family, and stands as the mother figure for Jem and Scout. However, she is black and lives in the black community. One day when Atticus is out of town Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout the church in her community. When they get there, the kids notice something peculiar about Calpurnia.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Elizabeth Janeway says “Growing up human is uniquely a matter of social relations rather than biology. What we learn from connections within the family takes the place of instincts that program the behaviour of animals”. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee that tells about civil rights and racism in the 1930s. The story takes place in a small town in the south of Alabama. The main characters are Jem and Scout, who are two siblings living in that town.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Walter's Empathy Quotes

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Calpurnia was enraged at Scout's dislike of Walter's actions and educated Scout that not everyone eats as well as her family. After viewing the situation from Walter's point of view, Scout better understood Walter's actions. Atticus teaches his children to be compassionate because judging a person before thinking about what you would have done in their situation makes it hard to have sympathy for someone. In order to be a compassionate and sympathetic person you must put yourself in others' shoes.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Clash of Prejudice and Maturation in To Kill a Mockingbird “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.” claimed freedom rights activist Nelson Mandela, a statement that generalized the main source of prejudiced hate through time. Since birth, children can learn from their surroundings about the world and how it works, and almost every time, their experiences with other people instill a general sense of opinions and ideas upon the children. These ideals are especially prominent in the deep South after the abolishment of slavery, for it set loose the pure hatred and wrath of racism upon the black community. This is exactly where Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird takes place,…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a captivating story about a young girl named Jean- Louise Finch (Scout) and the various experiences of her childhood. The father of Jean-Louise is a kind and modest man named Atticus Finch. He is a humble and generous person who will go out of his way to aid other people. Being a single father, he tries his best to take care of his two kids Scout and Jem. He is always there for his children and teaches them about how the world works and the struggles that they might have to go through.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Courage is a wanted characteristic but not everyone can acquire it. Scout’s father Atticus Finch is standing up for a innocent African American named Tom Robinson. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, is based in the 1930’s in a very racist time. Which lead people to say rude and ignorant things too Scout. Scout has to learn to hold herself back and not let people get the best of her.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is a famous saying that maturity is not defined by age. In other words, maturity is an attitude built by experiences. In the novel of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character and narrator, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, matures through her own experiences from a young child to become a compassionate young lady. During the 1930s the town of Maycomb, Alabama deals with many social issues that involve the class system, racial segregation, cult of domesticity, and educational equality. With this said, in the novel, the main character, Scout, loses her childish innocence and matures by learning from her elders, discovering the true identity of Arthur “Boo” Radley and experiencing the unfair Tom Robinson Trial as the story progresses…

    • 1650 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “First of all, 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” (39). What Atticus is doing is trying to convince Scout that Miss Caroline is doing what she believes is right and if she could see that, then she would get along with Miss Caroline better. Atticus says this early on in the book to Scout after she tells him all of the hardships she encountered on her first day of school and this theme stays true all the way through the entire book of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Dolphus Raymond, Boo Radley,…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Also, he is the man everyone trust and depends on in tough situations. Furthermore, he is teaching Scout generosity and helping her develop into a better person. Therefore, Scout is growing up and maturing with the help of Atticus’s wisdom as he teach her the valuable lessons to help…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A good father is a man who can be constantly busy, but always makes time to be there for his kids. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus who is the father and sole parent of Scout and Jem, displays qualities of an ideal father. To begin Atticus is very comforting when his kids are upset about something. When his kids argue and one of them ends up with their feelings hurt he is always there to cheer them up and help them through whatever happened. We see this when Jem yells at Scout when she mentions the court and makes her upset, she immediately runs to Atticus to seek comfort.…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Real Atticus Finch In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it contains a character whom has many different character traits. He’s a father of two and a lawyer in Maycomb County, and is a brave, wise, and admirable character. He goes by the name of Atticus Finch. Throughout the novel, Atticus proves to readers that he is a man of his words and will stand up for what he believes in. His son, Jem Finch, and daughter, Jean Louis Finch (Scout), both look up to him as he believes that all are created equal.…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays