Sunday 1 April 2012

A

A is for 'Atticus'. 
If you've read Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird', you'll know for sure who I'm talking about. Atticus is a fictional character, a lawyer in a small town of Alabama. He defends a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. In the process, his kids, Scout and Jem, are subjected to much ridicule and insult by the community, close-knit and rascist. The black is convicted and unpleasant incidents follow. The book is notmeant to be a balm, it is a strong voice of protest against injustice. But, the character of Atticus is strong, upright, 'one-shot', and enigmatic.
The novel won a 'Pulitzer'. Book Magazine's list The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 lists Atticus Finch as the 7th best fictional character of the 20th Century and his portayal by Gregory Peck in the movie is supposed to be 'the greatest hero in american film.'
This book is a must read for all sections of society in all lands. It is a modern day tale of the eternal fight of the commoner for justice, and the fight of good against evil. Social workers, lawyers, human rights activists have all drawn immense inspiration from Atticus, and on a personal level, so have I.

From the movie, Atticus with daughter Scout.

PS: This is the first post for the A-to-Z April Challenge, yay! (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/)

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I haven't read To Kill A Mockingbird, so thanks for educating me about this character!

Rachel Morgan Writes

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Good choice. Too bad so many schools are, dare I say ir, banning it.

My Arabic Journey said...

One of my favorite movie. Brings back memories.

Jen said...

Excellent choice for A! I read the book in high school (because I had too) but I really would like to read it again someday. Thanks for the reminder, I think I'll look it up on my kindle right now.

Misha Gerrick said...

Yay love your idea for A. Atticus is one of my most favorite characters ever. :-)

Stopping by on the A to Z Challenge.

Kristen Pelfrey said...

I love Atticus and TKM.
Talk about a perfect human.
A-Z Challenger Kristen

Sylvia Ney said...

One of my favorite books and movies! New follower here. I’m enjoying reading my fellow “A to Z”ers. I look forward to visiting again.

Sylvia
http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

mshatch said...

Atticus must be cool; yours is the second post I've seen today on him!

Unknown said...

Scout is my all-time fave character, but Atticus comes close. Great start to the challenge!

Look forward to your posts...
--Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

Sujata said...

This is such a good idea ! I'm doing this :D I missed out April 1 , cuz I saw your link too late. But I'll catch up :D

JoJo said...

TKAM is my fave book in the world, and fave movie too. It's perfect in every way. I did a blog post a couple of years ago devoted to TKAM!

Anonymous said...

I listened TKAM last summer. I read it in high school, and I was surprised at how much I remembered about the plot. It had so much more meaning to me this second time around. What an amazing book!

Ana
Fellow A to Zer