Maycomb, a fictional town in the Southern States of America plays host to the novel during the period of 1933-1935.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" follows a lawyer and his family prior to and during a legal case to defend a black male, Tom Robinson, charged of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. This occurs in a very white orientated town.

Atticus Finch, Attorney and father of two children only plays a brief part in the opening chapter but as this epic novel progresses so does his importance.

It becomes apparent that Atticus Finch, arguably the novel's main character, is extremely well respected in Maycomb by the majority of its residents. If someone expresses a dislike towards him he will still try to do his "best to love everybody". Atticus is a man of extreme integrity and some say that it is through his mouth that Harper Lee expresses her own morality, an opinion that I share. He represents a true gentleman

mparison to other families in the 1930's i.e. principally he was a single parent). This could perhaps be a reflection on Atticus's opinion that everyone has the right to be an individual and because of this we should not be judged. He is one person in a select few who feel that coloured people should be able to have the same standard of living as their white counterparts. Atticus is open to all opinions and will accept each individual for their own beliefs regardless of whether or not these differ from his own. He is respected and shows this by respecting others, in his search for impartiality he does not undermine anyone and is focused on only one thing, seeking justice. Atticus has some flaws, however I do not consider these to be harmful. These defects, created by Harper Lee, could be seen as weaknesses of the 'idealist'. He possibly subjects his children to risks that could have been avoided. For example Bob Ewell would have not attacked them if their father was not repres!

Harper Lees novel portrays many good things. One aspect, which I feel to be important, is the way in which Atticus becomes a role model for the rest of society. I think Atticus displays qualities and skills that people would like to mirror. I feel that it is important that the novel has an influential person, in this case Atticus, as he is someone who can be relied on and looked upon as being a constant person throughout. Miss Maudie who often speaks highly of Atticus says " We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for us" (chapter 22). This means that people look up to Atticus and believe that he will aim to excel at everything he does. This is apparent when Atticus protects the town's people from the rabid dog by shooting it. This symbolises the town's dependence upon his protection from forces that they cannot control. Finally this novel has been researched and written extremely carefully.

The majority of Maycomb accept Atticus. He is "civilised in his heart" which reveals the fact that, according to Miss Maudie, he personifies 'good' in Maycomb as a father, Christian, Southern gentleman and principally as a citiz

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Approximate Word count = 1457
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)