Intrapersonal Option 1 ( To Kill A Mockingbird)

For my blog assignment, I am required to answer to questions or accomplish 2 tasks by a certain deadline.

This is the question I have chosen:
1. Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain

Atticus Finch is certainly a person I would like to befriend in the book. He is the most morally upright person and exhibit moral courage which many people lack. He is a role model which everyone should aspire to be. His moral courage is demonstrated through his actions and words which would be elaborated later.

The book is set in the 1930s where discrimination against the blacks was not only the norm but the law. Many blacks were discriminated by not being given fair trial in court. Almost all the whites were prejudice against the African-Americans. Tom-Robinson was accused of raping a female who was white and Tom Robinson would face certain doom. Nobody would take up the job to defend Tom even though he was innocent, except one man.

That man is Atticus Finch. Even though the majority was against him, He never backed down. He believes that if he did not defend that innocent from being killed, he would not be angle to lift his head again. No matter how the community in Maycomb disapproves his actions, criticising him, never once did he regret taking up the case as he said it was the right thing to do. It takes courage to be able to stand against a crowd to stand up for your own beliefs. Atticus definition of courage is" you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" Not many people can do that. Atticus took up the job knowing he will lose the case and face resistance from the majority but he does not care. Many people are swayed in their decisions or actions by the majority. Someone who has the moral principles and courage to go against the majority is someone to befriend and admire. He will have a good influence to you and the people around you. Perhaps some of the moral principles will rub onto you which are a good thing.

Another good point about Atticus is that he never resorts to violence to resolve the problems. He said courage is not “a man with a gun in his hand" implying to be violent is not courage. When a mob wanted to lynch Tom Robinson, Atticus blocked the entrance to the jail. He did not carry weapon of any sort but only a book. He believes that reasoning is enough to solve problems. We can learn from him as he uses reasoning instead of violence to solve problems. Violence never solves problems but aggravate them. Atticus can teach me to put my fist down and hold my head high in the face of a problem. Many people jump into a fight without good reason and just worsen the problem. With such a role model as a friend like Atticus, he can teach me important life skills to tackle what life can throw at me.

Also, it is evident that Atticus is humble.He did not tell his children that he was the best shooter in Maycomb.Even when he was forced to show his ability , he politely asked the bystanders to keep quiet about this matter when the others praised his shooting skills. He did not like to flaunt his abilities, making himself very humble. A humble friend would be much easy to get along with as the friend would not boast and make you feel inferior. Being humble will avoid annoying others putting others off so everyone around would like him.You will like him too as he has a humble personality.

Though he is not really realistic at times because he is overly optimistic, his pros outweigh the cons significantly. I would befriend Atticus if I have the chance as he will not only be a good role model but a good friend too.