Atticus and Alexandra disagree about how to deal with the children. How does Atticus
handle the situation? Which do you think is better? Explain.
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9 comments:
Aunt Alexandra and Atticus are siblings, but are very different people. Atticus is somewhat of a new type of person in that time period. He is not racist and he doesn't believe in shooting a gun. He thinks that people should be able to do what they want to do based on their personalities and not necessarily on tradition. There aren't really any quotes that directly portray my description of him, so here something:
"You aren't really a [n-word] lover, then, are you?"
"I certainly am." (108)
Aunt Alexandra is a more traditional woman. She is one that believes that women have one set place in society: the kitchen. She thinks it is not right for a girl to like play or sports. According to her, boys and men are to be served constantly (it must have been pretty hard to raise Francis without that) except in sickness. She is also racist.
"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire." (81)
"Aunt Alexandra ministered to Francis, wiping his tears away with her handkerchief, rubbing his hair, patting his cheek."(84)
Now this being said, Atticus raises children differently, too. I have already described how Alexandra does.
Atticus tries to make his kids think about things. He listens to them. Say if there is a rule (like where Scouts teacher orders her not to read), he might allow someone to break it as long as it makes sense. He does his best to teach Jem and Scout common sense and morals (like not being racist).
"Why people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand..."
"...it was not until many years later that I realized that he wanted me to hear every word he said..." (89)
Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are siblings, but they show great differences in personality and conception. Atticus is justice, and has an open mind. He tries to teach Jem and Scout the ability to look in a wider view than others. He wants his children to be moral and think a matter over. Aunt Alexandra wants the children to be formal. She is stereotypical, and she can’t accept things that don’t fit with her concepts. Alexandra teaches children’s to not do any motion that will catch someone’s attention. I prefer Atticus’ way of dealing with the children. Aunt Alexandra’s way of dealing with the children is too formal and stereotyped. After all, Atticus’ way of dealing will give you an open mind and teach you more.
Aunt Alexandra handles children through apearances. She does not talk to them like adults, but tries to make them as innocent, ladylike, and gentlemenlike as possible.
Atiicus is much more different, he teaches his children morality. He belives that everybody is equal and that appearances do not count.
I believe that both concepts need to be put together. Appearances, you like it or not, are very important, and yet you must still be fair, believe that everybody is equal, believe in justice.
Atticus is the kind of person that everybody wants to have as a father. He is honest and when he wants the children to know that he is angry, he simply tells them in a quiet way. He doesn't want to know what happened but when he isn't sure about what exactly happened, he ignores it and doesn't say: "I want to knwo exactly what you did!". He seems to like the idea of not being cruel a lot. He wouldn't scream at Scout if she did something wrong. Instead, he would calmly sit down and, either, ask what she did "it" for (It refering to anything she might have done wrong in the course of the story), or he would know and tell her why what happened was wrong and what she should do to fix it. The same applied to Jem. An example is when Jem ruins the flowers in Mrs. Dubose garden. I believe that Atticus has a better way to treat children since he understands completly, it seems, how it is to be a child in situations like those. Aunt Alexandra doesn't seem to have much influence on the children. In fact, it seems, that Scout and Jem, only listen to her if absolutly necessary or when she is around watching them.
Atticus believes that children should do what they like, and how they like, as long as it is right. Atticus gives Jem and Scout more freedom then Aunt Alexandra does. Aunt Alexandra believes that children should be discaplined and obedient. For Scout, she thinks that it is time that she started wearing a dress. But Scout still plays boy games, and that would be to hard to do in a dress, so Scout refuses. Aunt Alexandra and Atticus are very different indead.
Atticus like Aubrey said is a new person in that era. He doesn’t belief in racism, discrimination, nor violence. Atticus treats Scout and Jem with ease and understanding. Unlike Alexandra who treats Scout and Jem Harshly. Atticus treats this situation with calm and respect like he treats everything. He doesn’t aid Aunt Alexandra in putting rules on Jem and Scout, but he doesn’t pull her back either. Atticus knows that Scout is just not exactly agreeing with Aunt Alexandra’s ideas of how a lady should be, but Atticus thinks that scout needs some female influence in her life. Atticus’s thoughts about Jem and Scout are that they should be allowed to be what they want, think what they want, and do what they want (as long as its no trouble). Aunt Alexandra thinks otherwise, she thinks that a lady should be well mannered, not do sports, play with dolls, and serve men at all times.
I think that both are very good ways to treat children. Children do need a certain level of freedom and to think what they want. Children also need a certain level of strictness and strict influence in their life’s so they can have a guide and just not wonder off into dreamland. The way Atticus treats the children is very good for them because he gives them a large level of self expression, he lets them have their thoughts and brake rules as long as it’s for a benign purpose. The way that Aunt Alexandra treats Scout and Jem might seem unfair but is good for the long run. Alexandra tries to avoid anything that is “bad influence” for scout, which is somewhat good but not always.
Part 1.2
In response to Yannick’s comment
Yannick,
I don’t completely agree with you when you say that Atticus is the father that everybody wants. You don’t exactly know that everybody wants a dad like Atticus, or at least in this time and place. Remember when everybody calls Atticus a “n***** lover” I don’t think that anybody would like a father who is a “n****** lover”
As everyone said, Aunt Alexandra and Atticus are siblings from the Finch Landing. Aunt Alexandra prefers education and stereotypes, especially since the children are from the Finch Landing, which makes her more possessive over them. She wants to show the people that the Finch are formal, however, the children are not that way. She does not understand the children, but only wants to show the world that the Finch are proud of how they look. Atticus' idea is different. He does not care about the image in front of the people, but the justice the children should learn. He wants to show the children of how to not accept the idea of racism. Atticus wants the children to have their own space and have as much fun when they are children, because he knows when they grow up, they wont be able to trust the world as when they were children. He shows them from right and wrong, and tries his best to make the children as wise as he can, in a good and light way.
what he does is explain every detail about what he wants to do with Scout and Jem. Aunt Alexandra mentions that Atticus lets Jem and Scout run wild. That is not exactly all. He lets them do anything they want as long as they recognize that it's right and it will not get them in trouble. Also, Aunt Alexandra wants to get rid of Calpurnia at all costs. Atticus mentions that she has never let them get away with anything, she's like a mother to them and (the big detail) the children love her. So, Atticus has the better lead. He thinks outside the box instead of listening to what other people say and goes along with it.
Atticus tries to make the children see justice. He tries to make them know what really is right. What Alexandra does is different. She tries to make the children follow the southern ways, but the southern ways are not necessarily just or nice. Instead of following the southern stereotypes and hypocritical ways, Atticus wants to make the children be able to make good decisions for later on in their lives. I think Atticus's way is better. It follows the human moral way. I am also slightly in agreement with Alexandra's way because if they do not act like most of the southerners, they will most likely be ostracized. Ms. Maudie is an exception for that, but she is just very kind. It is like modern popularity at school. You have to be with the "in" crowd to be popular. You have to follow their ways whether or not it is good or bad.
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