Tuesday, November 15, 2011

What type of relationship do Atticus and Scout have?Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

As a father/daughter relationship of the 1930s, the relatioship of Atticus and Scout is very unconventional.  First of all, Jean-Louise is called "Scout" and is allowed to wear overalls at a time when little girls wore dresses almost all of the time. Then, too, Scout addresses her father by his first name, an action that in the 1930s would have been considered the height of disrespect.  Another unconventional aspect to the relatioship is that Scout does not feel that any topic is taboo; she unabashedly asks her father about rape or being a "nigger-lover," etc.  Thus, the father/daughter relationship of Atticus and Scout is truly avant-garde, just as avant-garde as Atticus's views on black people and poor people and other social pariahs in the town.


Transcending all these uncoventionalisms of their relatioship, is the deep love and respect that Atticus and Scout have for each other. For, Atticus always listens to his daughter and teaches her in a kind manner, never derogating her.  For example, when she asks about his being a "nigger-lover," he simply answers, "Don't say that.  It's common" [common meaning lower-class] When Scout recounts the proceedings of the trial, she proudly relates the acute insight of Atticus:



Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch:  I applied his test....



Loving child and loving father, Scout and Atticus are also good friends who can talk freely to one another.

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