Atticus Finch Character Sketch

Atticus Finch is one of the major characters in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird written in 1960. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, the representative of Alabama in the State Legislator and the father of Scout and Jeremy Finch. The major themes and ideas Lee emphasizes in the novel are social inequality and intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery are represented in one way or another through this character. Atticus Finch is a man of principles who is consistent in his views and deeds throughout the novel.He has an arguable type of personality because many people back then would call him ignorant, but he still fought against his doubters. Although he is criticized and mocked by many characters in the novel for his tolerant attitude towards the â€Å"Negros†, the people of Maycomb still respect him and keep re-electing him to be their representative in the State Legislator. According to Miss Maudie Atkinson words to Scout, he is a man full of empathy, â€Å"Atticus is a man who does for other people the unpleasant things they have to do. He is a defender of justice and he fights for it even if he is sure that he will be beaten at end. † Atticus wise and understanding attitude is because he is quite aware of the fact that each human being has positive and negative sides. He always focuses on the good part of the people around him and in each situation he finds excuses for their aggressive or bad deeds. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. One of the things he does that prove this is he forgives Mrs.Duboses for the bad words she said to his children about him and he almost forces Jem to read for her during her last days. After she dies, he speaks to Jem and Scout about his admiration for her courage in resisting morphine addiction. At the very end of the novel, Scout states that she is grateful to her father for letting her know that you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. This attitude also makes Atticus tolerate Mr. Walter Cunningham and Bob Ewell aggressiveness towards him.Atticus is able to see beyond other peoples deeds and thoughts and thus he is highly respected for the wisdom with which he deals with difficult situations. Atticus is a courageous man. However, he believes that real courage is not manifested in a man with a gun in his hand. Although he once has been the best shooter in the town, his children have never seen him using a gun before the dog incident. Moreover, Atticus is too courageous and righteous to abide by the norms of the pride white people in his town. He defends a black man, Tom Robinson accused of raping a white young girl, against his white opponent.Atticus believes from the very beginning that he is to lose his case. However, he withstands peoples insults to himself and his children for the sake of the color-blind law he aims to achieve. Also, Atticus courage makes him ready to present his own son to be punished when he thought he killed Bob Ewelld whereas Sheriff Tate tries to defend Jem. Atticus frequent courageous defense of his principles has had an impact on his childrens conception of courage. Scout says â€Å"I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.Atticus does not abide by the norms of the white community pride. Not only does he defend Tom Robinson, but he also chooses to go himself to his wife to tell her about his death. The agony and pity of the late prisoner’s wife and not her color is what mattered to him. Atticus has chosen to defend his morals and his belief of justice regardless to the ethnic associations of Tom Robinson’s case. Unlike other characters in the novel, Atticus perceives the â€Å"Negros† as equal human beings who have the right to enjoy justice and social respect.He always defends his cook Calpurnia against his sister Alexandras reservations and he asserts to her that Calpurnia is a significant member in the Finch family. He does not mind that a black woman takes part in raising up his children. Also, he does not mind that she accompanies them to the church of the Negros even though the objections from his sister and from some members of the black community. Atticus Finch’s consistency makes him an ideal father. Unlike his brother, Atticus is an expert in dealing with little children.His wise and firm opinions and deeds have had great influence on the characters of Jem and Scout as the novel proceeds. Miss Maudie says that â€Å"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets†. He deals with Scout and Jem as if they are adults. For instance, he does not hesitate to answer Scouts question about the meaning of rape, and he makes deals with his children and is committed to them. At the same time, Atticus understands that Jem and Scout are still children and they are bound to make childish mistakes.He finds excuses for their bad deeds and that makes him more patient with them than his sister Alexandra. For example, he says to her when she criticizes the language Scout uses that bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn theyre not attracting attention with it. Atticus is eager to teach his children good values and practices through people’s mistakes and poor behaviour and their own mistakes in real life situations rather than by giving them instructions.He does not rebuke or punish Jem and Scout for attending the trial of Robison or for secretly following him to the jail where Robinson was kept. He is always aware of what his children secretly do. For example, he has known that it was Jem at whom Mr. Radely once shot his gun. Yet, he frequently draws their attention not to violate other peoples privacy. He also tries to make them realize facts about life and to correct their misconceptions by themselves. He often uses the question do you really think so? as an indirect hint that drives the children to revisit what they have thought or said. Also, Atticus conversations with Jem and Scout regularly included morally heavy contents such as â€Å"Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em, but remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird. The way Atticus deals with his children has made them respect him and grow more proud of him as time passes, and they appreciate what he has done for them, although they once have felt sorry that their father is older and less energetic than other children’s fathers. The character of Atticus finch represents a good model of a professional lawyer. Atticus’ defense of the color-blind justice and his belief that law should be free from any prejudices has set him as an ideal lawyer. He is widely regarded as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for people. He also tries throughout the novel to pass these values onto his children. As a result, the character of Atticus Finch, the lawyer has appeared in many other books that targets lawyers and concern them.Mike Papantonio’s In Search for Atticus Finch: A Motivational Book for Lawyers and Pierre Schlag’s Laying Down the Law: Mysticism, Fetishism and the American Legal Mind are cases in point. Also, the character was so influential that it appeared in books concerned with law and lawyers in cinema productions such as Law and Film by Steve Greenfield, Guy Osborn, Peter Robson, In conclusion, Atticus Finch is an ideal paradigm of a good citizen, a skilful and honest lawyer and an understanding father. The character is enlightening and influential on other fictional characters in the novel and on people in the real world as well. His insightful attitudes and deeds distinguished him as a highly respectable and appreciated individual in the community he lived in. His personality urged people to choose him as their representative even though they sometimes criticize him for doing the unpleasant things that must be done.

The Watergate Scandal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Watergate Scandal - Research Paper Example Nixon effected the American breakthrough with China with his landmark visit. In Moscow, he signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and an Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty to slow the arms race. The Paris Peace Accord ended American military involvement in Vietnam. â€Å"American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969).† However, Nixon is now largely remembered as the only President to resign from office. Richard Nixon’s legacy is centered on solely one issue: the Watergate scandal, with its connotations of abuse of power and impropriety. The Watergate Scandal originated in June 1971, as a reaction to the publication of an intensive study of the Vietnam War by Daniel Ellsberg. Fearing that these ‘Pentagon Papers’ would reveal his own political secrets, Nixon established the Special Investigations Group (SIG): nicknamed ‘the plumbers’ because of their mandate to prevent any media leaks about the Nixon administration. In an attempt to discredit Ells berg, G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt of the SIG organized the burglary of the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, to gather damaging evidence. In 1972, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) allocated funds for Operation Gemstone, a campaign to gather information against Nixon’s political adversaries. ... Nixon won a landslide election victory in November 1972, and began his second term as President. (â€Å"The Watergate Scandal†). At this juncture, the dam of the Watergate Scandal broke, and the deluge washed away his Presidency. The exposure of the Watergate Scandal gained momentum due to the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post. Their informer, called ‘Deep Throat,’ was revealed in 2005 to be the former deputy director of the FBI, W. Mark Felt.  (â€Å"Deep Throat Revealed.†) As Nixon attempted to cover his tracks over past political errors, the axiom that â€Å"the cover-up of the crime can be more damaging than the crime itself† (â€Å"American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969)†) proved true. It became increasingly clear that the break-in was authorized by top White House officials, campaign funds were diverted for illegal SIG operations, and that the White House attempted to buy the silence of the arres ted men. It was proved that a $25,000 cheque from the campaign fund was paid to Bernard L. Barker and hush money was given to E. Howard Hunt to be distributed by his wife. In January, 1973,  Frank Sturgis,  E. Howard Hunt,  Virgilio Gonzalez,  Eugenio Martinez,  Bernard L. Barker,  G. Gordon Liddy  and  James W. McCord  were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. James W. McCord  wrote to Judge James Sirica alleging that the defendants submitted to political pressure from John Dean, Counsel to the President, and John Mitchell, Director of CREEP, to remain silent and plead guilty. Nixon persisted in maintaining his ignorance of the operations, but his defense began to wear thin. (â€Å"The Watergate Scandal†). As the net began to

The Watergate Scandal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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The Watergate Scandal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Watergate Scandal - Research Paper Example Nixon effected the American breakthrough with China with his landmark visit. In Moscow, he signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and an Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty to slow the arms race. The Paris Peace Accord ended American military involvement in Vietnam. â€Å"American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969).† However, Nixon is now largely remembered as the only President to resign from office. Richard Nixon’s legacy is centered on solely one issue: the Watergate scandal, with its connotations of abuse of power and impropriety. The Watergate Scandal originated in June 1971, as a reaction to the publication of an intensive study of the Vietnam War by Daniel Ellsberg. Fearing that these ‘Pentagon Papers’ would reveal his own political secrets, Nixon established the Special Investigations Group (SIG): nicknamed ‘the plumbers’ because of their mandate to prevent any media leaks about the Nixon administration. In an attempt to discredit Ells berg, G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt of the SIG organized the burglary of the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, to gather damaging evidence. In 1972, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) allocated funds for Operation Gemstone, a campaign to gather information against Nixon’s political adversaries. ... Nixon won a landslide election victory in November 1972, and began his second term as President. (â€Å"The Watergate Scandal†). At this juncture, the dam of the Watergate Scandal broke, and the deluge washed away his Presidency. The exposure of the Watergate Scandal gained momentum due to the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post. Their informer, called ‘Deep Throat,’ was revealed in 2005 to be the former deputy director of the FBI, W. Mark Felt.  (â€Å"Deep Throat Revealed.†) As Nixon attempted to cover his tracks over past political errors, the axiom that â€Å"the cover-up of the crime can be more damaging than the crime itself† (â€Å"American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969)†) proved true. It became increasingly clear that the break-in was authorized by top White House officials, campaign funds were diverted for illegal SIG operations, and that the White House attempted to buy the silence of the arres ted men. It was proved that a $25,000 cheque from the campaign fund was paid to Bernard L. Barker and hush money was given to E. Howard Hunt to be distributed by his wife. In January, 1973,  Frank Sturgis,  E. Howard Hunt,  Virgilio Gonzalez,  Eugenio Martinez,  Bernard L. Barker,  G. Gordon Liddy  and  James W. McCord  were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. James W. McCord  wrote to Judge James Sirica alleging that the defendants submitted to political pressure from John Dean, Counsel to the President, and John Mitchell, Director of CREEP, to remain silent and plead guilty. Nixon persisted in maintaining his ignorance of the operations, but his defense began to wear thin. (â€Å"The Watergate Scandal†). As the net began to

New Management Team causes delay in HR and pressures current staff Essay

New Management Team causes delay in HR and pressures current staff - Essay Example This article is related to my issue because it highlights the variety of ways in which the insufficiency of human resources caused by downsizing affects an organization. Particularly, it emphasizes how such management strategies as downsizing or delayed recruitment disturb the employees psychologically, emotionally, and physically, and how the effects go beyond them to reach the customers also. In my case, the employees are the teachers and the customers are the students. Article 2: Summary (Cameron) conducted a research upon 30 organizations to study their downsizing strategies with a view to identifying successful downsizing strategies and the implications of downsizing upon the workers’ performance. Successful downsizing requires successful management of the system of human resource that includes such aspects as employee training, reward, and performance evaluation. HR assumes the responsibility to help make this system effective by avoiding the typical top-down approach th at considers workers as a liability for the organization. HR professionals assume the main role in successful downsizing. ... Poor decisions of the management with respect to recruitment can cost an organization a lot of direct and indirect cost. BHEL’s recruitment policies were found to be good and effective since the organization conducts recruitment through big selection boards. Delay in recruitment is one of the main areas of focus of my study. This reference is particularly useful when I am evaluating the best strategies of recruitment in my research while proposing that instead of delaying the recruitment and increasing the work burden for the teachers, the new management should design effective recruitment strategies to hire the best team of teachers to take the school to the next level. Article 4: Summary (Gabdolfi) conducted a research to identify the organizational, financial, and workforce related effects of downsizing. Downsizing affects the workers psychologically and emotionally and disrupts their relations with the family. Four lessons of downsizing are preparation, specific training, management of the survivor syndrome, and counting of the costs. This paper relates to my issue because along with identifying the ways in which the teachers come under increased load and pressure of work in the absence of more teachers that need to be recruited, Gabdolfi has also highlighted the implications for the new management and proposed four lessons of downsizing that help the management make informed decisions. Article 5: Summary (Dahar et al.) conducted a quantitative study to identify the effect of quality of teacher on the students’ achievement. They found that the quality of teachers did not significantly affect the level of achievement of the students in the schools with