Atticus Finch is a fictional character of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. In an interview once held with Harper Lee, she indicated that she had based Atticus's character after her close friend Nick Velillari, who was also a lawyer. In 2003, Atticus Finch, as portrayed by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation, was voted by the American Film Institute to be the greatest hero in American film.^[1]

Impact on the legal profession

Claudia Durst Johnson noted about available critique of the novel that, "a greater volume of critical readings has been amassed by two legal scholars in law journals than by all the literary scholars in literary journals."^[2] Alice Petry remarked that "Atticus has become something of a folk hero in legal circles and is treated almost as if he were an actual person."^[3] Examples of Atticus Finch's impact on the legal profession are plentiful. Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center notes Finch as the reason he became a lawyer, and Richard Matsch, the federal judge who presided over the Timothy McVeigh trial, counts Atticus as a major judicial influence.^[4] One law professor at the University of Notre Dame stated that the most influential textbook he taught from was To Kill a Mockingbird, and an article in the Michigan Law Review claimed, "No real-life lawyer has done more for the self-image or public perception of the legal profession," before questioning whether, "Atticus Finch is a paragon of honor or an especially slick hired gun."^[5]

In 1992, Monroe Freedman, a legal ethics expert published two articles in the national legal newspaper Legal Times calling for the legal profession to set aside Atticus Finch as a role model.^[6] Freedman argued that Atticus still worked within a system of institutionalized racism and sexism and should not be revered. Freedman's article sparked a flurry of responses from attorneys who entered the profession holding Atticus Finch as a hero, and the reason they became lawyers.^[7] Critics of Atticus such as Freedman maintain that Atticus Finch is morally ambiguous and does not use his legal skills to challenge the racist status quo in Maycomb.^[8] Freedman's article sparked furious controversy. Further, in 1997, the Alabama State Bar erected a monument dedicated to Atticus in Monroeville marking his existence as the "first commemorative milestone in the state's judicial history."^[9]

Skill with firearms

In the tenth chapter of the novel, Finch shoots a mad dog, which has frightened several locals, in one shot. Those commenting on his ability with his firearms noted his skill; he was known to have called using 15 bullets to kill 14 doves a waste of ammunition. However, thirty years prior to the incident depicted in the novel, Finch is said to have sworn never to use a firearm again unless in a dire situation.

Film adaptation

Book Magazine's list The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 lists Finch as the 7th best fictional character of 20th century literature.^[10][11]

In the 1962 film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, the actor Gregory Peck portrayed Finch. Lee became good friends with Peck as a result of his depiction of Finch, and even gave Peck her father’s watch.^{[citation needed]} For his performance in the film, Peck received the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2003, Finch as depicted in the film was voted by the American Film Institute to be the greatest hero in American film.^[1] Finch was chosen over film protagonists including Indiana Jones, Rocky Balboa, and Mohandas K. Gandhi, as depicted in the film Gandhi. In 2008, Finch was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters.^[12] Premiere magazine also ranked Finch number 13 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.^[13] On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked Finch at number 32.^[14] Entertainment Weekly placed Finch on their list of The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.^[15] 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, said about his performance:

Lee continued to praise Peck's portrayal of Finch in the years following the film's release:

The line "If you can learn a simple 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", spoken by Finch in both the novel and film, was one of 400 film quotes nominated by the AFI for its 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list, but was not included in the final list.^[18]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "[Finch] transforms quiet decency, legal acumen, and great parenting into the most heroic qualities a man can have." It also stated that the character Jake Tyler Brigance from the film A Time to Kill is a "copycat descendant" of Atticus Finch.^[15]

Social references

Atticus Finch's willingness to support social outcasts and those discriminated against due to a perceived inferiority is the eponymous inspiration for the name of the Atticus Circle. The Circle is an organization composed of "straight allies", heterosexual persons supportive of the LGBT rights movement.^[19]

References

Bibliography

• Johnson, Claudia. To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries. Twayne Publishers: 1994. ISBN 0-8057-8068-8
• Johnson, Claudia. Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historic Documents. Greenwood Press: 1994. ISBN 0-313-29193-4
• Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. HarperCollins: 1960 (Perennial Classics edition: 2002). ISBN 0-06-093546-4
• Mancini, Candice, ed. (2008). Racism in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird,  The Gale Group. ISBN 0-7377-3904-6
• Petry, Alice. "Introduction" in On Harper Lee: Essays and Reflections. University of Tennessee Press: 1994. ISBN 1-57233-578-5
• Shields, Charles. Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. Henry Holt and Co.: 2006. ISBN 0-8050-7919-X