Mr Dolphus Raymond tells Scout, Your pa’s not a run of the mill man. :: Free Essay Writer

Mr Dolphus Raymond tells Scout, Your pa’s not a run of the mill man. How far do you agree with this description of Atticus Finch? The novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee is set during the 1930s in the Deep South of America, during a time when there was a large racial segregation. The book is about Tom Robinson, a black man accused of the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson’s lawyer is Atticus Finch. Atticus is a white, single father of two children, Scout and Jem. The family live in the town of Maycomb County, Alabama. It is a very close knit community and Atticus is family, friends or a neighbour to nearly all the people of Maycomb. He is frowned upon by nearly all the white citizens of Maycomb because he is defending a black man. Atticus believes Tom Robinson is innocent and so defends him, with or without the support of Maycomb’s citizens. Atticus Finch is ‘Maycomb County born and bred’ and is ‘related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in Maycomb’. Atticus has lived in Maycomb all his life and at the start of the book, before the trial, is highly regarded as a good citizen of Maycomb. Atticus is a fair and honest man. Atticus is one of the only men in Maycomb who does not share the prejudices of the other citizens. He is also very well educated unlike many others in the town, whether this is due to lack of money or simply the fact people cannot be bothered to go to school, like the Ewell family. On Scout’s first day of school we find out that every member of the Ewell family ‘come first day every year and then leave’. He treats black and white people the same and he gains a lot of respect from the black community of Maycomb. A few of the white citizens of Maycomb support Atticus during the trial but Mrs. Dubose is not one of them. Mrs. Dubose tells the children ‘Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’ I feel that Mrs. Dubose deep down likes Atticus but she has been brought up in a world or racism and prejudice and more than likely was taught not to like black people. One person who supports Atticus throughout the book is Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie is a neighbour of the Finch family. Miss Maudie is the only person who never loses faith in Atticus. During a conversation with Scout she tells her ‘there are some men in this world that are