To Kill a Mockingbird
discussion
The Atticus Factor

I nominate Peekay in The Power of One, although he is also very young and naive so I'm not sure if he fits the bill for you. :) If you loved the books you cited, and you haven't read The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, then you need to pick it up. You will not be sorry!



This was quite an interesting thread that was started. I would love to learn about other Atticus-type characters.
I believe that what sets Atticus Finch apart is the way Lee wrote the character. He does not posess a strong moral core, like so many other characters in books - he IS morality. He's not decent, he IS decency. When Atticus acts, he is RIGHT. I believe that many authors need to provide their characters with "grey areas" in which to flesh them out. Lee succeeded where so few else have because she did just the opposite with Atticus. What you see is what you get...what he says, whether with his children or in a courtroom, has not one unnecessary word, nor one necessary word missing.
The "Atticus Factor," I believe, is so rare that you have aptly named this discussion. Though I will think long and hard, I feel hard-pressed to believe that many names will be offered that will "fit the bill."
Rita
The "Atticus Factor," I believe, is so rare that you have aptly named this discussion. Though I will think long and hard, I feel hard-pressed to believe that many names will be offered that will "fit the bill."
Rita


Thanks for the kudos, Tanvir, but some "quotation marks" would have been appreciated between your comments and mine. And I do agree that Atticus is, as well, the embodiment of "humility," as you suggest.
Now go get that tissue!
Now go get that tissue!
OK, I may be taking this a bit far, but this is a group (and a book) that means a lot to me.
We keep talking about "The Atticus Factor." And those who have read "TKAM" know EXACTLY what Atticus says about mockingbirds, why, when and to whom.
I actually know nothing about birds, other than that they often build nests in the eaves over my bedroom, and when the eggs hatch, they wake me musically - though WAY too early. SOOOO...I decided to look up "the finch." (Finch being Atticus' last name.)
There's WAY too much on finches to get into, but one comment was consistent: "the finch is considered the most highly developed of all birds." As I read that comment over and over, I was wondering where all of my beloved old English teachers' heads were when we discussed this book.
We are NOT talking about "the Atticus factor." Clearly, we are talking about the "Finch factor."
On that note, I believe that I have finally said as much on the topic as I can, much, I am sure to many of your delights: I'll keep reading what others say, but it's all clear to me now. Harper Lee named her characters for a reason...Atticus is so unusual a name, and Finch, by comparison, is so common. We get "hung up" on the name Atticus, when in fact, it is the common last name of "Finch" that best describes the man whom, I believe, has the most "highly developed" persona of all characters in American literature.
Anon.
We keep talking about "The Atticus Factor." And those who have read "TKAM" know EXACTLY what Atticus says about mockingbirds, why, when and to whom.
I actually know nothing about birds, other than that they often build nests in the eaves over my bedroom, and when the eggs hatch, they wake me musically - though WAY too early. SOOOO...I decided to look up "the finch." (Finch being Atticus' last name.)
There's WAY too much on finches to get into, but one comment was consistent: "the finch is considered the most highly developed of all birds." As I read that comment over and over, I was wondering where all of my beloved old English teachers' heads were when we discussed this book.
We are NOT talking about "the Atticus factor." Clearly, we are talking about the "Finch factor."
On that note, I believe that I have finally said as much on the topic as I can, much, I am sure to many of your delights: I'll keep reading what others say, but it's all clear to me now. Harper Lee named her characters for a reason...Atticus is so unusual a name, and Finch, by comparison, is so common. We get "hung up" on the name Atticus, when in fact, it is the common last name of "Finch" that best describes the man whom, I believe, has the most "highly developed" persona of all characters in American literature.
Anon.




Mrs. Turnbow is absolutely right. I re-read the book, jotting down names and characters, and nothing could be closer to the truth. (Witness my posting about the name of "Finch," as just one example.)
As to Capote having written the book: I had heard those rumors years ago. Anybody ever read any Capote? (And I don't mean "In Cold Blood.") Capote was certainly an odd duck, but to even give him a moment's huzzah for writing TKAM is to diminish both authors' writing styles. Capote would have had to have been suffering from such a severe state of schizophrenia that he would have been long ago institutionalized - permanently.
As I tell my students: If you hear a rumor, it is just that. If that rumor is then re-stated by an independent, uninterested source as the first, then it moves toward coincidence. If a third, uninterested, independent source makes the identical claim, then it starts to move toward the realm of the possible. As far as I know, the rumor that Capote wrote the book was "grabbed" by others who thought it to be an interesting and "possible" idea. That does not constitue corroboration, but, rather, an idea that sparked other peoples' curiosity and answered the question as to why Lee never published again.
Who knows? Maybe Capote was driving the car that killed Margaret Mitchell, so that we never got our "Gone With the Wind" sequel?
As to Capote having written the book: I had heard those rumors years ago. Anybody ever read any Capote? (And I don't mean "In Cold Blood.") Capote was certainly an odd duck, but to even give him a moment's huzzah for writing TKAM is to diminish both authors' writing styles. Capote would have had to have been suffering from such a severe state of schizophrenia that he would have been long ago institutionalized - permanently.
As I tell my students: If you hear a rumor, it is just that. If that rumor is then re-stated by an independent, uninterested source as the first, then it moves toward coincidence. If a third, uninterested, independent source makes the identical claim, then it starts to move toward the realm of the possible. As far as I know, the rumor that Capote wrote the book was "grabbed" by others who thought it to be an interesting and "possible" idea. That does not constitue corroboration, but, rather, an idea that sparked other peoples' curiosity and answered the question as to why Lee never published again.
Who knows? Maybe Capote was driving the car that killed Margaret Mitchell, so that we never got our "Gone With the Wind" sequel?


I think it's immensely important that Atticus, the gentle pacifist, is a dead-eye shot with a rifle, for instance. Harper Lee knew what she was doing.







I would put on the table the idea that Atticus' character plays off of one of the archetypical characters found in multiple great works of art, in all mediums of all eras. He's an individual composed of the morality and ideals of an era®ion, and is not allowed to deviate from his curriculum vitae. Humans enjoy reading about an individual who is so "upstanding" because we each of us are conditioned to at least want the same for ourselves. Atticus just so happens to be a man recent enough for our generation(s) to relate to and on some level feel nostalgic for.

Gandalf & Dumbledore fit, yes.
And somebody mentioned Phoebe Caulfield which is pretty accurate as well.
This is fascinating! I'll keep an eye out.
And somebody mentioned Phoebe Caulfield which is pretty accurate as well.
This is fascinating! I'll keep an eye out.

I think Alli said it well with her recent post:
"Humans enjoy reading about an individual who is so 'upstanding' because we each of us are conditioned to at least want the same for ourselves. Atticus just so happens to be a man decent enough for our generation(s) to relate to and on some level feel nostalgic for."
Yeah!






No, dear old Atticus Finch loves his boots dirty, his women clean, and I bet you a watch-chain in a hole in a tree, old Finch is a haggard masturbator when the lights go dim.
I really don't see why Atty is so hot; he's NOT. Whatever Scout tells you, you get the feeling that Mr. Finch was not too bright, he gives you the impression of being honestly ignorant--the sort of ignorance you can brag about to your friends. No, Atticus just ain't right. There's something real spooky about him. Did he father Boo? Did he have the hots for that high-spirited dear old girl in the court-room? Did he not have a pointy hat and a bed-sheet that says KKK? Why didnt he remarry? Was he gay? And hey, whats the big deal about that lovable, lonely, dying old widow with an AK-47 on her lap? And who in the holy hell names a girl Scout and a boy Jem? What was his nickname for his dead wife? Bill? No, folks, Atticus aint right. He's one of those useless, constantly reinvented memories that boring women recycle to bore the lights out of you in sad, drab summer parties.



I chose to name our four-year old son Atticus because of all the name represents. The common meaning I found on looking it up was "father-like." To me, the name Atticus encompasses every positive characteristic for a father-figure.

It's interesting that when I read this in high school, I loved Atticus. When I read it as an adult, I loved him even more. Is my admiration for Atticus a yearning for childlike innocence? Or is he just badass? I vote for both.
By the way, Maria, Rahim Khan is a good one!!
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Can you name another novel that depicts this type of character?