How is the Finch family presented?
The Finches are presented as a middle white class family who are an educated and respected family, and this is shown in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, at various stages. Many characters such as Miss Maudie and other members of the Maycomb society play a great role in presenting the Finches. Within the Finch family, Atticus and Scout are crucial in portraying the Finch family.
The Finches are like the Ewell’s in being motherless, but there is no other resemblance. The Finches are put forward as having a perfect family life; Atticus, the father, loves, guides, protects and always provides a good example by his own conduct. When the children do wrong, Atticus, as a good father, corrects them, but he is never too repressive or strict. Both Jem and Scout, love, trust and respect their father. When Scout is miserable, she always ‘runs to sit’ on Atticus’s knee’, little actions like this sum up the explanation of a close relationship. The children know their father more than he knows himself, for example the children know ‘Atticus takes his watch out to think’, the knowledge of one another is a justification of a good family. Whatever difficulties, the children experience in the novel, especially during the trial, they are able to survive because of their warm, secure and happy family background. Scout protects Atticus’s feeling from hiding the names people have been calling him, for example she hid the fact that Francis had called Atticus a ‘Nigger-lover’. However, Scout confides this information she knows with Uncle Jack who is ‘trustworthy’, illustrates close relationship with other family members other than Scout, Jem and Atticus. The Finches clearly demonstrate the vital importance of a good family life and the impact of it.
Scout Finch, youngest in the family and the narrator is presented as an unusual girl, who has many different qualities. The novel is told through the eyes of Scout. Harper Lee uses the technique of showing the novel through the eyes of a child to explore the various opinions made by Scout; this perspective of the novel, allows us as a reader to explore Scout’s character who is shown to be humorous, ironic and confused with clarity of moral vision. At the beginning of the book, Scout’s literal talents are expressed with the incident in Miss Caroline’s class, where we as a reader learn that she learns ‘to read before beginning school’. Scout is known to be confident as she ‘uses her fists’ at school, which suggests she fights at school and this is proven with Scout getting ready to fight with Cecil Jacobs. Not only is she physically brave, however she is mentally brave, as a young girl, she considers things after Atticus looses in the court, she doesn’t cry like Jem but is quiet and understands the situation. In addition she is also a very thoughtful child, as she considers the good and evil in the world, she argues ‘there is only one kind of folks. Folks’ conveys Scout’s childhood innocence. Scout has a loud characteristic and she is very odd, but odd does not always need to be bad, and this is proven by Scout, who is the only female character who wears’ dungarees’ and plays with guys implying she is not girly but a tomboy, rather than’ talking to Cousin Lily’ and joining ‘the missionary circle ‘like the other stereotypical women of Maycomb.
Harper Lee presents Atticus Finches’ many characteristics. Atticus is a lawyer, and this can clearly be seen without being mentioned to the audience, it can be seen through his language. Atticus includes many law connotations and justifications within his speech, within the house, outside and in the court.’ Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets’, displays that Atticus is an honoured and respected man by everyone, furthermore, it conveys that Atticus isn’t hypocritical, and doesn’t have double standards, unlike the people of Maycomb. There is a lot of racial prejudice in the book within black