Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain.

In the novel, I would like to be friends with Atticus, due to his strong sense of justice and moral values. Before the Tom Robinson trial, many people around Atticus were displeased with his actions as they feel that it’s demeaning for him to defend a Negro. Hence, they attempted to dissuade him in ways which include violence and insults. For example, on one late night, Mr Cunningham and a group of men went up to him and tried to express their opinions through violence. Also, many people in town called Atticus a nigger lover, and insulted him. However, despite all that, Atticus did not back down as he felt that the court should be a place where all men are equal. He felt that Tom Robinson should be defended and judged with no prejudice involved. This shows that Atticus has a strong sense of justice, and is willing to overcome all odds to achieve his goal. This is a very good learning point for me and Atticus can be my guiding light.

Also, Atticus has strong moral values, as shown in the incident involving Boo Radley. When scout pestered Atticus as to why Boo never emerged from his house before, Atticus imparted to scout the lesson of understand. He told scout that in order to fully understand someone, she must first wear his skin and walk around in it. This quote should not be taken literally and it means that in one can only understand another if he places himself in his situation. From this, I learnt a lot, and became my empathetic and understanding towards other people.

Lastly, Atticus also taught Jem what true courage is. He told Jem that Mrs Dubose fought her morphine addiction even though she did not have long to live and knew that the journey will not be an easy one. In his words, he said that, “ True courage is doing something even though you know that you are licked before you begin. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” This quote is extremely inspirational to me, and helped me overcome the barrier of failure.