I think Atticus's parenting style is good. He lets the children do what they want but if they've done something wrong then he's sure to discipline them. An example of this is when Jem gets very angry with Ms. Dubose and ruins all her flowers. He tells his father what he did and he has to go back to her house and apologize. He then has to go over to her house everyday and read to her. Even though he hates her and does not want to do this at all, Atticus still makes him. He's open with them. When they have questions he answers them with truth. In other words he doesn't shelter them as many parents do. He explains everything they ask in full detail. Atticus lets Jem and scout call him Atticus instead of having them call him father. Some people might view this as disrespectful and wrong but it's really not. Atticus tries to show his children the right way in life. Instead of raising them to be racist and think they're superior he raises them to believe in equality. He has a black women in their house all the time to cook for them. He let's the children talk to her and be around her. He raised the children to stick up for other people and to invite people over for food. People of Maycomb think that Atticus is raising Scout wrong. He lets her play outside in the dirt, wear overalls etc. Atticus views scout as a young girl who just wants to have fun while she can. After all, Atticus isn't worried about how his children present themselves. He's more interested in the virtues they have.
Even though Atticus is criticized a lot during the book, most of Maycomb respects him. This is true because he shows respect to everyone and he's a single dad who tries to raise his children the best he can. Even when people are being hard on him he stays respectful. An example of this is when Ms. Dubose was saying that Atticus needs to raise his children better. He tipped his hat and asked how her day was. Most of the women in Maycomb talk about how Atticus should raise Scout (Jean Louise Finch) better because she doesn't dress or act as a young girl should. Many of the folks in Maycomb think that scout is going to grow up to be a non proper lady. Her aunt Alexandra is tough on her because she thinks that Atticus isn't doing a very good job of raising her. Atticus is also highly respected during this time in the book because he was chosen to defend a black man against a white persons word. Some of the town respected him but also pitied him.
|
Archives
May 2016
Categories |