Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fabulous book that teaches us lessons through the literary features of the book. Atticus Finch is an unusual person in Maycomb who is not like other fathers and does not discriminate people, especially when he defends a man that no other white person would ever do in their lives. Atticus defended a black man named Tom Robinson in trial, who is accused of rape and Atticus goes through an obstacle staying calm to keep his client away from his death. The way of how one human being can be different from all others is shown through the characterization to show one’s way of living and a metaphor to show a symbolic meaning in the excerpt.
Lee shows how Atticus is different from all stereotypical fathers and the way she characterizes him shows how he is an unusual person unlike all other people that live in Maycomb. Scout Finch is at her school and there are rumors of her father Atticus defending a black man and the comments she gets of her father “defending Tom Robinson, none of which was complimentary.” (Lee 16-18) Lee shows how unusual Atticus is by showing him as a man who defends black men and this can show the difference between him and average white man because most of them disrespect a black man like they are about to kill him. Atticus is shown different through his unusual character that is good for the town. Next, Scout does not like her father’s behavior and shows her emotions of how he stayed home, reading a book in their living room. She compares Atticus to other fathers as a boring person who “didn’t do anything.” (Lee 7) This shows how Lee characterizes Atticus as a boring person to be compared to the stereotypical men in Maycomb. It shows how unusual Atticus is and shows the importance of him as a different person.
Lee displays Atticus’ different way of life through a metaphor that represents a mockingbird and it shows how we should not kill it. Atticus gives his children, Jem and Scout, get an air rifle from him...