What makes someone a hero? Is it how he or she acts or what he or she teaches? This essay is about one character and why he is a hero. Not only is he one because of what he does, he is one because of what he teaches. That character is Atticus Finch from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In June of 2003, The American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest hero of 100 years of film history. He deserves this award because he shows and teaches empathy, modesty, courage, and ethics.
One reason that Atticus deserves this award is because he shows and teaches his children courage. One night Atticus was at the local jail because he heard that a mob might try and hurt his client, Tom Robison. When the mob got there Atticus …show more content…
They watched as their father talked to the mob. The children couldn’t take the fact that their father might get hurt, so they ran down to defend him. “Atticus stepped back and looked up. They’ve gone he said. Get some sleep Tom. They won’t bother you any more (pg.206).” This quote showed that Atticus had successfully made the mob leave without getting hurt. His action showed his children that their father was willing to stand up to a mob, just to protect the wellbeing of one person. This was not the only example of Atticus teaching courage. Another example would be when Ms. Doubose, their neighbor, died. “I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see real courage, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hands. It is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through (149).” He said that because …show more content…
One way of doing this was by letting Mr. Cunningham pay anyway he could. “One morning Jem and I found a load of stove wood in the back yard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps. With Christmas came a crate of smilax and holly. That spring when we found a crater full of turnip greens, Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him (27).” By doing this Atticus expressed modesty by not showing off about how he had more money than Mr. Cunningham and letting him pay any way he could. Another example is how he did not tell his children that he was the deadliest shot in Maycomb County. “What’s the matter with you boy, can’t you talk? Didn’t you know your daddy’s-“Hush, Heck said Atticus, let’s go back to town (128-129).” This subject was brought upon when Atticus killed a sick dog. For years Atticus had never bragged about his accuracy. This taught his killed not to show off.
Atticus taught and expressed many values to his children, but the most important ones are courage, modesty, empathy, and ethics. These were all very hard values to teach in the thirties, but Atticus taught them and taught them well. From Atticus’ teachings his children are going to grow up to be a gentleman and a
One reason that Atticus deserves this award is because he shows and teaches his children courage. One night Atticus was at the local jail because he heard that a mob might try and hurt his client, Tom Robison. When the mob got there Atticus …show more content…
They watched as their father talked to the mob. The children couldn’t take the fact that their father might get hurt, so they ran down to defend him. “Atticus stepped back and looked up. They’ve gone he said. Get some sleep Tom. They won’t bother you any more (pg.206).” This quote showed that Atticus had successfully made the mob leave without getting hurt. His action showed his children that their father was willing to stand up to a mob, just to protect the wellbeing of one person. This was not the only example of Atticus teaching courage. Another example would be when Ms. Doubose, their neighbor, died. “I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see real courage, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hands. It is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through (149).” He said that because …show more content…
One way of doing this was by letting Mr. Cunningham pay anyway he could. “One morning Jem and I found a load of stove wood in the back yard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps. With Christmas came a crate of smilax and holly. That spring when we found a crater full of turnip greens, Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him (27).” By doing this Atticus expressed modesty by not showing off about how he had more money than Mr. Cunningham and letting him pay any way he could. Another example is how he did not tell his children that he was the deadliest shot in Maycomb County. “What’s the matter with you boy, can’t you talk? Didn’t you know your daddy’s-“Hush, Heck said Atticus, let’s go back to town (128-129).” This subject was brought upon when Atticus killed a sick dog. For years Atticus had never bragged about his accuracy. This taught his killed not to show off.
Atticus taught and expressed many values to his children, but the most important ones are courage, modesty, empathy, and ethics. These were all very hard values to teach in the thirties, but Atticus taught them and taught them well. From Atticus’ teachings his children are going to grow up to be a gentleman and a