Atticus Finch is a character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer, resident of Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus is one of the central characters in the novel, arguably the single central character, although he is not the protagonist. Atticus is one of the most memorable and unique characters in American literature; in 2003 the AFI named Atticus, as portrayed in the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird by Gregory Peck, as the #1 Greatest Hero of American film, and in 2002, a "panel of 55 authors, literary agents, editor and actors" named him the 7th Greatest Character in Fiction since 1900[1]. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American novelist known for her Pulitzer Prize–winning 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her only major work to date. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... To Kill a Mockingbird is a Southern Gothic bildungsroman novel by Harper Lee. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film directed by Robert Mulligan and based on the novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ... Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an Oscar-winning American film actor. ... // AFIs 100 Years. ...

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.

This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film directed by Robert Mulligan and based on the novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...

Background

Atticus is the descendant of Simon Finch, a doctor from England who settled near Maycomb. Atticus, rather than stay in the family homestead (named "Finch's Landing") went to Montgomery to study law. There he met and married the future mother of Jem and Scout Finch (who is never named, although it is mentioned that she was fifteen years younger than he), who dies of a heart attack two years after Scout, the youngest child, is born. At the start of the novel, Atticus lives in Maycomb with his two children and his maid, Calpurnia.

Plot

Atticus is the book's most upright character, representing the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being: he is brutally honest, highly moral, a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), a virtual pacifist and, for the most part, devoid of any of the racial or class prejudices afflicting the other citizens of Maycomb. He goes to great pains to instruct his children on the importance of being open-minded, judicious, generous neighbors and citizens. He is eventually revealed to be an expert marksman, but he had chosen to keep this fact hidden from his children so that they would not in any way think of him as a man of violence. He was once the best shot in Maycomb County, but quit shooting because he felt he had an unfair advantage. Physically, he is described throughout the novel as a tall, middle-aged man with glasses to correct his failing eyesight, and hair slightly graying at the temples. He is also mentioned never to take off his vest and tie, except right before changing for bed (he did loosen up his collar during his closing argument at Tom Robinson's trial).

The novel centers on (from the perspective of his daughter, Scout Finch) Atticus' struggle to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, convicted for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Despite the fact that there is strong evidence suggesting that Tom is innocent, most of the town takes the side against Atticus simply because his defendant is a black man and the victim is a white woman. Hence, Atticus, his children and his family continually face slander, insults, and sometimes even threats of physical violence from fellow town citizens, schoolmates of Jem and Scout, and even other members of the Finch family. Despite all this, Atticus refuses to abandon the case, and continues to urge Jem and Scout to remain unresponsive to the town's criticism, fearful that they may learn the wrong ethical lessons. Atticus shrugs off all prejudices and insults, forgiving the townspeople for their failings, and continues to work for Tom's acquittal, taking the release of the innocent man as a personal crusade.

Just as the entire book is semi-autobiographical, Atticus Finch was based on Harper Lee’s father Amasa Coleman Lee, although the name “Finch” presumably came from her mother, Frances Finch Lee. The name of Atticus came from the Roman orator and noble Titus Pomponius Atticus, noteworthy for never taking a side in political struggles but rather staying impartial. Titus Pomponius Atticus (110 BC/109 BC – 32 BC). ...

In the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch was played by Gregory Peck. Lee became good friends with Peck and even gave him her father’s watch, which he used in the famous courtroom scene. For his performance, Peck received the Academy Award for Best Actor, and was voted in 2003 by the American Film Institute to be the #1 Greatest Hero of American film, beating out such famous film heroes as Indiana Jones, Superman, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Tarzan, James Bond and Robin Hood. Peck, a civil rights activist and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, who favored the role of Finch over all his other roles, had this to say about his performance: The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // AFIs 100 Years. ... Dr. Henry Indiana Jones, Jr. ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Gandhi (1982) is a multi-award-winning biopic film about the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (often known as Mahatma Gandhi), who was leader of the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. ... 1914 Edition of Tarzan of the Apes Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-three sequels. ... Flemings image of James Bond; commissioned to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists. ... Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham. ... The Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States and is bestowed by the President of the United States (the other award which is considered its equivalent is the Congressional Gold Medal, which is bestowed by an...

“I put everything I had into it – all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity”.

Lee loved his portrayal of Finch and said of it: "In that film, the man and the part met." [2]

Atticus' line "If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it" was one of 400 film quotes nominated by the AFI for its 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, but was not included in the final list. The line was spoken exactly as it appears in the book. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...