In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee repetitively uses the term “if” as an association of Scout Finch’s depiction of her father Atticus. This repetition parallels and connects to the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. The stanzas of the poem can all be linked to different occasions in the novel and come together to create an impacting characterization of Atticus in the eyes of Scout. This characterization develops Atticus as a person who is, to everyone, filled with integrity and wisdom
Atticus’ integrity is seen on page 100 when he says, “If I didn’t [defend Tom Robinson] I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee). This scene directly …show more content…
His sophistication is seen multiple times throughout the story. One such time was when he said, “First of all, if you can learn a simple, 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” (Lee 39). This sentence shows that Atticus does this himself in order to better comprehend other people’s actions and, in turn, gain their respect. Another example of Atticus’ wisdom is his understanding that violence is not the solution to all problems. It is also seen that Atticus was able to teach Scout this lesson in Chapter 9. At this point in the story, Scout confronts Cecil Jacobs with the intention of fighting him, but instead she remembered the things that her father had explained to her and decided that “if [she] fought Cecil [she] would let Atticus down” (Lee 102). These are just a few uses of “if’ within the story but once again they create a connection to Rudyard Kipling’s poem. “If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise” (Kipling). All of these quotes show that if a person is wise enough they can gain the respect of many people and, as mentioned earlier, further their integrity against “lies” and
Atticus’ integrity is seen on page 100 when he says, “If I didn’t [defend Tom Robinson] I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee). This scene directly …show more content…
His sophistication is seen multiple times throughout the story. One such time was when he said, “First of all, if you can learn a simple, 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” (Lee 39). This sentence shows that Atticus does this himself in order to better comprehend other people’s actions and, in turn, gain their respect. Another example of Atticus’ wisdom is his understanding that violence is not the solution to all problems. It is also seen that Atticus was able to teach Scout this lesson in Chapter 9. At this point in the story, Scout confronts Cecil Jacobs with the intention of fighting him, but instead she remembered the things that her father had explained to her and decided that “if [she] fought Cecil [she] would let Atticus down” (Lee 102). These are just a few uses of “if’ within the story but once again they create a connection to Rudyard Kipling’s poem. “If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise” (Kipling). All of these quotes show that if a person is wise enough they can gain the respect of many people and, as mentioned earlier, further their integrity against “lies” and