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How does Atticus show courage when parenting Jem and Scout?

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a courageous figure in many respects. For example, he defends Tom Robinson at the cost of his reputation. As a father, Atticus also shows courage in a variety of ways.


The first act of courage extends throughout the entire novel. Atticus is a widower trying to raise his children by himself. Though Calpurnia cooks meals for the family and cleans the house, Atticus devotes himself to properly raising his children, rather than finding a new wife to do it for him. No matter the difficultly or long hours associated with his job as a lawyer, he takes time to listen to Scout and Jem’s troubles. For example, when Scout is adamant about never going to school again after a terrible first day, Atticus treats her opinions with respect. In this way he guides Scout to make better decisions for herself.


Another act of courageous parenting exhibited by Atticus is that though he is protective of Jem and Scout, he does not try to hide the world from them. For example, after Ms. Dubose’s death, Atticus tells Jem that the reason he made Jem read to her each day for a month was to help Ms. Dubose withdraw from her morphine addiction. By revealing this information to Jem, Atticus teaches his son some hard truths about life.

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