Atticus Finch, a Father and Teacher

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is full of life lessons and influential figures as siblings Jem and Scout grow up without a mother. As a single parent raising Scout and Jem, it is their father Atticus Finch who influences the children most. Atticus challenges them to be better people and helps them to discover many important life lessons. Some of these include not judging a book by its cover, compromising and keeping your head high and fists down. These lessons play a crucial part of Jem and Scouts’ growth into young adults and allow them to stay strong during the controversial trial of Tom Robinson. One of the first lessons Atticus teaches Scout is compromise He promises that â€Å"If [she] concedes the necessity of going to school, [they’ll] go on reading just as [they] always have. † (Lee 31) Atticus knows Scout is fond of him reading to her, so takes advantage of the situation, not only to convince Scout to go to school, but also to teach her how to compromise. Someone who did not know Scout as well as her father does would not have seen this unique solution or been able to explain the concept to her as well as her father could. Scout’s disastrous first day at school proves to be a flop but is full of valuable teachable moments for Atticus. During the very same conversation† Atticus teaches Scout not to judge a book by its cover. (†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢First of all’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. ’ ‘Sir? ’ ‘Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it:’† (Lee 30) This lesson helps Scout to get along better with her teacher while teaching her to be more understanding of other peoples situations as she exams situations from their point of view. This is not the only time Atticus has to address Scout’s volatile personality, and how it comes out in public. Nor is it the only tie he uses it to teach her a lesson. Atticus again has to address Scouts aggressive behavior after she gives Cecil Jacobs a bloody nose while defending Atticus’s name. This is not the first time Atticus has had to talk to Scout about fighting, but unlike other times, He take the opportunity to teach her a lesson, which sticks with her more than just a simple scolding ever could. He tells her that â€Å"[She] might hear some ugly talk about his [defense of Tom Robinson] at school, but to do one thing for [him] if [she] will: [to] just hold [her] head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anyone says to [her], don’t †¦ let ‘em get [her] goat. † (Lee 76) By asking her to do it for him, Atticus makes a stronger impression on her than threats over could. Scout would take a punishment if it meant standing up for Atticus, but she wouldn’t do anything to disappoint or break a promise with her father. Atticus knows this, and uses it to his benefit to make sure Scout does not get into trouble. Given his situation as Tom Robinson’s lawyer, this is one of the most important lessons he could ever teach Scout. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows Atticus teaching not only Scout valuable lessons, but also the reader too. Lessons such as compromise, not to judge a book by its cover and to use our words not our fists. These valuable lessons are learnt in our youth but often forgotten, as we grow older. Atticus Finch influences his children in such a way that they will never forget these vital life lessons. Lesson we can all learn and live by!

Psychological Traits and Characteristics and how they are linked with Assignment

Psychological Traits and Characteristics and how they are linked with criminal behavior - Assignment Example 146). Although this is a working definition, it does not adequately tell what personality is and how it relates to crime. However, many psychologists have discovered that there are many personality traits that seem to be associated with crime. Some of these include: â€Å"self-assertiveness, narcissism, suspicion, destructiveness, mental instability, hostility [and] poor personal skills† (Siegel, p. 146). Those people who exist within a deviant personality also are seen as having a criminal personality. The challenge with this idea is that there are no sure ways of defining what a person is like who has a particularly criminal personality. Theories of Personality and Crime There are many theories that suggest that there is a link between personality and crime. Eysenck (1968) was the first psychologist to suggest that sociology theories did not work well when talking about criminal behavior. Instead, he said that biology and the environment came together to create a criminal. H e believed that there were four dimensions to the criminal mind and that it was linked to the amount of extroversion and neuroticism that an individual experienced through their environment. He believed that a simple personality test could tell whether an individual would be a criminal or not. He believed that criminals were somehow â€Å"developmentally immature† (Sammons, p. ... Cognitive theories are often mentioned in relationship to crime because many experts think that criminals may have skewed cognitive processes. In this case, the individual may not have had a positive opportunity to develop their cognitive senses normally. Instead, they rely on scripts that they were taught in childhood that tell them what they should do in any situation (Siegel, 2009). In these cases, the individual may have seen many things as children that shaped their attitudes and ideas about how they should relate to others, what their behavior should be in certain situations, and how they should view the world. This type of thinking can lead them into problems later as they explore the world around them. According to Siegel, the perception changes in some people as they grow older and they mature if they are begin to understand reasoning in a different way. Biosocial theories are also important to consider in this discussion because there is evidence that both biology and envir onment play a part in whether a person turns to criminal activity or not. The earlier theorists believed that there was only a single aspect of life that was important to criminal behavior. As an example, a person who was feeble or who had less intelligence than someone else may turn to crime. The next set of biological theories suggested that individuals had some influence, but environment had more to do with criminal behavior than biology. Today, these theories suggest that both environment and biology have something to do with criminal behavior (Vito, Maahs, and Holmes, 2007). The challenge for experts is that no one really knows what will turn a person to crime, but environment and biology do have some say in

The Evaluating a Website for Credibility Assignment

The Evaluating a Website for Credibility - Assignment Example Similarly, students can use the web address http:/ http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/03/16/393336901/vaccination-gaps-helped-fuel-disneyland-measles-spread to quickly find this website. This website’s domain npr.org is essential and one of the best way to determine its credibility of the site. In addition, it helps researchers learn the source of this web site quickly. The article from the npr gives a detailed discussion of the outbreak and spread of measles. The prime objective of this website is to enlighten the general public of the importance of vaccination, which makes it informative. Through the statement, â€Å"...there is a protective effect called herd immunity that interrupts the spread of the virus to vulnerable people† the website is optimistic that citizens will heed to the advice and embrace vaccination. Additionally, the site successfully passes the information since it is easy to navigate. Simplicity and visibility of the words used give visitors easy time while reading the information. Further, the website has an attractive picture that is accompanied by a written description of the images. The website also loads instantaneously hence saves time for the visitors. Besides, the website owner collects visitor’s geolocation data through their services for offering relevant services. The organization reserves the right to use the visitor’s comments for the purpose of improving service though it does not share personally-identifying information with the third parties. Since it does not share personal information, the website has a great sense of security and privacy. Moreover, this website is credible, and Americans and worldwide visitors should trust its information. Carder (2013) says that a credible should have an author from a recognized institution. George Freylandov has written this web page, and he is associated with the National Public Radio organization. In addition,