Atticus

It’s funny that, though this is Scout’s story and told in her voice and from her point of view, Atticus is really the hero of this story. He is frequently embraced as one of the best fictional parents ever written (a recent CNN article touts this: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/07/mf.best.fictional.parents/index.html), and for good reason. He is eminently fair, kind, wise, and modest as he fights for the tired, the poor, etc. My memory of the last time I read this book was mainly of Atticus and the battle in the courtroom. I also remembered him as this awesome, perfect character. This is why it surprised me to read some of the things he said about the Ewells in the book. He describes them as “the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” and that “it’s silly to force people like the Ewells into a new environment.” For all that Atticus preaches about treating everyone with respect, the fact that he writes off the entire Ewell clan as trash is a little jarring. Now it may be that the Ewells are in fact a family of troublemakers and none of them have ever amounted to anything good, but I doubt the town’s attitude towards them has helped that fact at all.

Atticus’ cross-examination of Mayella Ewell was another scene that was uncomfortable to read. It’s pretty obvious from the evidence that is presented that Mayella probably wasn’t raped by Tom Robinson, but it’s still a little upsetting to read about Atticus prodding her to describe in details how she had been injured and in which exact locations. I don’t know how rape cases are handled today; perhaps it’s better than the way they were handled back then, but I don’t think any rape victim should have to sit on a witness stand and recount her trauma in front of a room full of spectators like that.

I liked Atticus’s reaction to Bob Ewell’s threats later though, when he said that he would be willing to take harassment from Bob Ewell if it would spare Mayella an extra beating. I suppose it is small things like that which have made Atticus such a well-loved character in literature.