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To Kill A Mockingbird What Does It Mean To Be A Good Parent

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Words 962
Pages 4
Jason Teh
Mr. Lander
9th Grade La Pd6
9 December 2014
What Does It Mean to Be a Good Parent?
What does it mean to be a good parent? Well, the most common definition of a good parent is one who makes their children feel valued and loved, by teaching them the difference between right and wrong. At the end of the day, the most essential thing is to create a nurturing environment where your children feel like they can mature into confident, independent, and caring adults. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird defines what a true parent really is thought hardships and struggles among the book. The story is set in the Depression era of a little town in southern Alabama that is struggling with thick prejudice on a colored rape case. The story …show more content…
Scout and her brother Jem are both beginning to grow up and realize the devastating prejudices among Maycomb. Their father Atticus, who is the lawyer of a colored man’s case, plays the role of the main protagonist who fights through Maycomb’s dark prejudice. He guides Jem and Scout through different types of conflicts by teaching them valuable life lessons. Together, with the wisdom Atticus’s words, actions and thoughts, has made him into a wise courageous aspiring parent. Atticus has motivated Jem and Scout towards the right direction without controlling their actions by educating his children through life lessons in both rough and positive times.
Atticus is a good father because he is very compassionate towards himself and his children. An example would be Atticus’s selflessness. For instance, Atticus Finch had risked his own reputation in order to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man, who has been accused of raping and beating a white girl. Atticus takes a risk by taking on the case. When his …show more content…
Atticus shows his wisdom by considering before reacting. Likewise, when Atticus was leaving the post office, Mr. Ewell had “approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him…Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring her to repeat" Atticus considered that by doing nothing, he had showed compassion for others by saving the Ewell children from another beating from Bob (217). In short, Atticus considers all factors before making a decision. Moreover, Atticus shows his wisdom in his unique and effective parenting style, by allowing his children freedom to play and explore, in order to mature and discover the mysteries of the world. One example of his effective parenting is when, Jem had “cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose [had] owned” Jem was punished for reading to Mrs. Dubose everyday (103). As Jem reads to Mr. Dubose, they begin to realize that even though Mr. Dubose was a cranky mean person, she had fought over her addition of morphine until the very end. Jem and scout had learned the meaning of real courage from the words of Atticus that “It’s when you know you’re licked before you see it through no matter what” ( 149). Although Atticus had allowed his children freedom to explore, he

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