3. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in Maycomb descended from
an old local family and Scout and Jem ’s father . He is a
wise and caring father and a widower with a dry sense
of humor . Atticus is nearly fifty.
4. Atticus' beliefs and strong moral compass lead him to defend Tom Robinson, a
black man, from baseless charges of rape. This is an unpopular decision among
many Maycomb residents. However, Atticus feels that his refusing to take up
the case would make him undeserving of others' and his own respect. He is a
very strong and resilient static character.
5. His children call him "Atticus" rather than "Dad". Atticus
demonstrates great character throughout the book, strives to set a
good example for his children, and teaches Jem and Scout to treat
everyone equally . He has instilled in his children his strong sense
of morality and justice.
6. He was once known as "One-Shot Finch" because of
his skill with rifles (shown when he kills a rabid dog
with a single shot).
7.
8. In Atticus Finch, author Harper Lee (who based Atticus on her own attorney
father) creates one of the most admired characters in all of American
literature, and he is probably the most well known and best-loved lawyer of
any novel. (Gregory Peck's Oscar-winning portrayal brought Atticus to life on
screen, and his performance has routinely been voted one of the best in
cinematic history.) In addition to being the best known lawyer in Maycomb,
Atticus serves as the town's representative in the Alabama legislature,
running unopposed each election. He is respected by all who know him, as
evidenced by the lynch mob's willingness to obey Atticus's directive to speak
quietly so as not to awake the sleeping Tom Robinson-the man they had come
to kill
11. • Calpurnia is one of the few black characters in the novel who is able to read and
write, and it is she who taught Scout to write. She learned how to read from
Miss Maudie's aunt, Miss Buford, who taught her how to read out of
blackstone’s commentaries , a book given to her . While everyone in the novel
is filtered through Scout’s perception, Calpurnia in particular appears for a long
time more as Scout’s idea of her than as a real person. At the beginning of the
novel, Scout appears to think of Calpurnia as the wicked stepmother to Scout’s
own Cinderella. However, towards the end of the book, Scout views Calpurnia
as someone she can look up to and realizes Calpurnia has only protected her
over the years.
16. Boo Radley is a ghost who haunts the book yet manifests himself at just right
moments in just the right way. He is, arguably, the most potent character in the
whole book and as such, inspires the other key characters to save him when he
needs saving . After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem and Scout have a different
understanding of Boo Radley. “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something.
I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all
this time… it's because he wants to stay inside." Having seen a sample of the horrible
things their fellow townspeople can do, choosing to stay out of the mess of humanity
doesn’t seem like such a strange choice . When Boo finally does come out, he has a
good reason: Bob Ewell is trying to murder the Finch children. No one sees what
happens in the scuffle, but at the end of it, Ewell is dead and Boo carries an
unconscious Jem to the Finch house. Finally faced with Boo, Scout doesn’t recognize
him at first, but suddenly realizes who he is. Boo Radley is played by Robert Duvall in
the movie.
