In the last line of chapter thirteen Scout says, “I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.” (pg 179) In the scene leading up to this statement, Atticus was influenced by Aunt Alexandra to teach his children the “facts of life.” He proceeded to do so by the standards of
Atticus, though could not keep up this front that Aunt Alexandra had set for him. This is because his character is a symbol of what the future of
Atticus proceeded to dismiss what he had said because he had given the impression that the Finch’s are better than most people in Maycomb, but realized that that was not the sense the he wanted to portray. And so, in the last line where Scout reflects on this conversation it becomes apparent that Atticus is more open minded than Aunt Alexandra, and that women in
My question is: What, if anything does Atticus symbolize?
I interpreted the major significance of the last line of Chapter 13 similarly as Emily. I also felt that the line was pointing out the gossiping and judgmental nature of the type of woman that Aunt Alexandra represents. Harper Lee had been incorporating this idea throughout the chapter and there seemed to be some clear intentions to further emphasize Aunt Alexandra’s character and to contrast her character to that of Atticus. However, I felt the primary purpose of this line was to show Scout’s view on women. I think this line shows that Scout ideas about what real women are like are being sculpted around the character of Aunt Alexandra. While Scout is doubtfully compelled to follow in the footsteps of her aunt due to the animosity between them, Aunt Alexandra has proven to be a role model. It will be interesting to see if Scout will accept that many, if not most, southern women will have personalities similar to Aunt Alexandra's. Scout is naturally inclined to not accept her aunt’s type of personality, but in Maycomb Scout is likely to run in to the same attitudes again.
ReplyDeletein my opinion, Atticus symbolizes the "right" of the "wrong" of the typical Southerner. The wrong being the prejudice and segregation of colored people, and the belief in rumors. Atticus, on the other hand, takes up defending a colored man on behalf of his job, and his morals/values. Also, i am very sorry this is late; no one posted before i left for swim.
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