How Is Atticus Finch A Good Role Model

To define the character of someone is a tricky task. It is also difficult to define a character. Not only are we asking who is Atticus Finch but what characteristics make him who he is. These different definitions of the word character are a way to analyze real people and the people we find in fiction. Although Atticus Finch is just a figure of Harper Lee's imagination in her famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, he is a character full of character. He possesses many attributes that set them apart as a true role model. Over all the adjectives there are to describe Atticus Finch, the 3 that set him apart and are above all are that he is moralistic, humble, and idiosyncratic.
What makes him moralistic is that he is a good citizen of himself by …show more content…
He does not put himself above others or brag about himself and he strives to remain humble despite the many attempts people try at breaking him of his strong character. In chapter ten there is a dramatic scene where a dog known as Tim Johnson, “the property of Mr. Harry Johnson who drove the mobile bus” (Lee, 122) caught Jem’s eye and seemed a bit off. Jem and Scout went home and reported to California who then called Heck Tate, the town sheriff, and Atticus to take care of it. The dog was most likely sick with rabies and could possibly harm someone. Atticus and Heck arrived and Mr. Tate had a rifle in his arms. Up until this moment the children had believed that their father was a week old man, not in a disrespectful way but in a way that they'd never pictured him as someone who could shoot a gun and do it well. When it came down to having to shoot the dog heck handed the gun to Atticus and demanded that Atticus must take the shot. This surprised the children and Calpurnia, who were unaware that Atticus had a reputation as One Shot Finch. He upheld his reputation and it only took him one shot to lay out the rabid dog. “What's the matter with you, boy, can't you talk?” Said Mr. Tate, grinning at Jem. “Didn't you know your daddy's-” Heck was interrupted by Atticus. “Hush, Heck, “ Atticus said, “let's go back to town”. (Lee, 128-9) Atticus has a tremendous skill when it comes to his shot, but he refuses to let Heck brag …show more content…
Finch is overall idiosyncratic in relation to the people of his time. Idiosyncratic is defined as pertaining to the nature of idiosyncrasy, or something peculiar to and individual. What make him idiosyncratic is that he is peculiar in comparison to the majority of the citizens of Maycomb. He was ahead of his time. The main element that set him apart from the community is his lack of catching “Maycomb's usual disease”(Lee, 117). He was above the racism and prejudice that was still practiced by his peers, although a war had been fought and had ended over the very topic. In the courtroom during Tom Robinson's trial Atticus says, “ But there is one way in this country and which all men are created equal- there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. The institution, gentleman is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. Court in the land, or this honourable court which you serve. 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.” Regardless of the beliefs of other people of his time Atticus followed true to the belief that all men are created equal. This set him apart. Not below or behind everyone else but different and, from my perspective now, above the