? Essay, Research Paper
Atticus lived as more than a father, he was also a mother and a friend. His children
respected him as a parent, but trusted him as a companion. Atticus was forced to take the
role of mother and father when his wife passed away. He allowed himself to became a
friend in some situations. Scouts teacher informed her that she was not to have reading
lessons at home with her father, this angered Scout, and pushed her into disliking school.
She came to the decision that she would not go, but Atticus would not hear of this he
allowed Scout to still have her reading lesson with him so long as she stay in school. As a
man of morals, he expected Jem and Scout to behave, but he accepted the fact of their
misbehavior. .When Scout sat down to lunch with Walter Cunningham at the table she
only spoke to him in a rude manner. Atticus did not allow this he had Scout brought aside
and spoken to. Walter?s situation was explain to her, so that she understood his actions.
Atticus had been a father since the day Jem was born. Being a father is a full time
job, that lasts your life. As you could imagine, Atticus may have wanted a break, so he
simply became a friend. As a companion, his children trusted him and were able to
communicate on the same level. While waiting at the jail with Tom Robinson one dark
starry night a mob of towns men confronted him, Jem and Scout , knew that their father
was in trouble, and came to his aid. Scout was able to turn the spot light off of her father
and ?safe him?.
As a father and companion Atticus understood his children?s need of expression.
He was aware that a person?s emotion?s are capable to build up. In some situation?s Jem
and Scout were able to state their feelings. When Scout was upset that school had not
been what she thought, Atticus allowed her to express her feelings toward school. Jem
had different ways of expression that sometimes upset people, but he still did. Mrs.
Dubose was disliked by Jem, and one day she pushed him to the point where he ruined
her flowers. Both children both able to express themselves, but it was not always positive
expression.
Atticus was not just a parent, or a friend, he was also a person. As a person he
lived his life to the fullest and treated his children as equals. Atticus was different from
other fathers, even parents, because he treated his children as people, not kids.