Monday, May 5, 2008

7 Reasons Atticus Finch is a True Gentleman

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I recently finished Harper Lee's masterful work, To Kill a Mockingbird. It was the first time since high school English that I had read it, and I took a very different set of ideas from this reading than I did as a teenager. While the storyline still affected me deeply, I was most impressed with how Atticus Finch's character epitomized several traits I think any true gentleman should strive to internalize. I will outline seven of his most prominent traits.

  1. Responsibility. After his wife dies, Atticus is left to raise and teach his two children, Jem and Scout, by himself. He does have the help of his housemaid, Calpurnia, but he alone provides for the food, shelter, clothing and finances of his household. Not only does he take care of his family, he helps keep his neighborhood in order by helping them with their wills and entitlements, shooting mad dogs and taking the jobs no one else wants to do. He also takes his civic responsibility so seriously that he serves in the state legislature for several years even though it takes him from his family often and for long periods of time.
  2. Education. One of the men outside the Maycomb courthouse regards Atticus as being a "mighty deep reader." Every night he reads from the newspaper and other sources, thus minimizing the risk of being ignorant or uninformed. As an attorney, he deals with an almost infinite range of cases and his education reflects directly on his professionalism and skill. He makes it a point to know enough to be able to do his job well.
  3. Humility. Atticus' humble nature leads his children to think him a weak and uninteresting father. In reality, though, he is the best marksman in their county. He is so confident in his own abilities he does not need to promote them. Another example of his humility is in his interaction with the elderly Mrs. Dubose down the street. Atticus tells his children that she is the bravest person he has ever known - a marked statement considering how much courage he shows. He has no problem with seeing an old, bitter, morphine addict woman as his better.
  4. Courage. As I touched on before, Atticus is as brave as any man need be. Not only does he accept and defend a black man accused of raping a white woman in 1930's Alabama, he stands outside the accused man's cell to protect his client from a mob of murderous townsmen. It does not take a stretch of the imagination to see the danger physically, emotionally and publicly in both of these actions. Atticus may be hesitant of the daunting task at hand, but he carries out the job nonetheless. infrontofmob
  5. Respect. Atticus shows everyone around him the respect they should be due. Not always did the people around him act in a way worthy of his respect, though he gave it anyway. A prime example of this happens when Atticus passes the old woman, Mrs. Dubose, who had insulted his children and told them horrible things about their father. Instead of confronting the old woman and encouraging more useless dialogue he removes his hat to her and tells her what a lovely flower garden she has. He understands that we cannot change other people's actions, we can only influence them through our own. By showing his enemies respect and honor, he takes a nobler path.
  6. Honesty. Atticus, as his neighbor Ms. Maudie tells his daughter Scout, is the same in his own house as he is on the street. He is honest almost to a fault. While his honesty causes others to trust him he in turn believes people to be more trustworthy than they are. While this is a dangerous character trait, it is admirable in its origins. Utopian would be the world where men held themselves and others to their word.
  7. Stoicism. To an extreme and as an end to itself, this trait can injure one's self against emotion. As exemplified by Atticus, this trait becomes a virtue. Atticus is able, through controlling his appetites and passions, to bear the heavy burdens he meets. His wife dies and leaves him to care for the children alone. Taking Tom Robinson's case exposes him to a firestorm of hate from his friends and neighbors. The father of the prosecution spits in his face in front of his children. Atticus stoically wipes the offenses from himself and deals with each problem through sheer will-power. It is important to note that he retains enough emotion to weep openly when Tom Robinson's family and friends try to repay him for his attorney services. He is a man who is not afraid to cry, but saves his tears for the important moments when they are most needed.

Understandably Atticus is a fictional character, but just like other fictional heroes like Spiderman or Superman, that does not mean we cannot look to him as a role model. We live in a nation of where even our highest leaders who should embody them, lack many of the basic values of a gentleman. In response to this crisis of character we need to look seek out strong men and women to emulate. And aside from real life, what better place to find those people than in what I consider to be America's greatest art form - literature.