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Ashlyn Gunn
Ms. Leo
CP English II
15 March, 2013
Live Life Authentically
The most crucial part of life is living it. The hardest part of life is knowing how to live it.
Everyone has certain morals and thoughts about how people should live. In the novel To Kill a
Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character, Scout, is faced with many conflicts when her
father, Atticus, fights for a colored man in a court in their racist town in 1935. Atticus lives an
exemplary life, contrary to others views. He is a very authentic man because he does whatever is
morally right no matter the pinion of another. People should live authentic lives by being
truthful, patient, and non-judgmental as displayed in the character of Atticus Finch in Harper
Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
The first way that a person can live their life authentically is by being truthful. One of
Atticus' best attributes is his truthfulness. For example, when Atticus's daughter, Scout, asked his
brother an awkward question he avoided it. To this Atticus said: "'When a child asks you
something, answer him, for goodness' sake'" (Lee, 92). What he means here is that one should
always tell the truth, no matter the consequences. Also, in another scenario where Scout asked
the question of what rape was, she reports, "He [Atticus] sighed, and said rape was carnal
knowledge of a female by force without consent" (Lee, 135). In saying this Atticus is still being
truthful, but at the same time he is being a responsible parent.
Another form of truthfulness is not lying about others. This is one of the most critical
parts to a peaceful exemplary life. Lying about others simply causes trouble, hatred, and ruin. In
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fact, the Bible says, "You must not tell lies about your neighbor" (Nelson, 95). This is one of the
Ten Commandments; it came straight from the mouth of God. His son died for us while we were
still with sin and this is how we repay him. Shooting spiteful lies toward one another. It is a
simple task to be asked; just don't. If everyone were as truthful as Atticus and as God wishes us
to be then nothing would be bad in the world. "Kings like honest people; they value someone
who speaks the truth" (Nelson, 877) The Bible says here that even kings, the highest of people,
value honesty. They want them as their friends; they want truthful authentic friends.
"Patience is a virtue." A phrase often heard first said by one unknown genius. Agreed,
patience is one of the most difficult qualities to acquire. However, patience is another quality of
an authentic person. The character of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird is a single parent
of two curious children. He is also a fulltime lawyer. Needless to say he has a lot on his plate but
he still manages to be patient with every being crossing his path. Once, in the court room when
cross-examining a witness Atticus stayed patient while the ignorant person thought Atticus was
insulting her. He did not correct her snidely; he merely let the judge handle the problem. Scout
observed from the balcony upstairs, "Atticus resumed his stroll to the windows and let Judge
Taylor handle this one" (Lee, 182). In a situation where he could have snapped at the witness, his
face stayed relaxed and he was practicing his patient nature. Atticus was right in doing this
because God said, "... it is better to be patient than to be proud" (Nelson, 915). God would rather
us be patient because some do not understand thing as quickly as others do. He does not want the
some to feel inferior. Atticus not once acted proud by correcting her ignorance, but stayed
patient.
Patience also means being patient when times are rough. The most challenging time to
maintain patience is when times are troubling or innerving. "Be joyful because you have hope.
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Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times" (Nelson, 1628) God desires for us to live
the best lives possible. He wants us to have peace and patience, even in the face of trouble.
Atticus does this throughout the whole second part of the book when defending his client who
has been charged with rape, merely because of the color of his skin. Atticus follows God's
morals and stays patient in the face of near defeat. In an article by Nancy Yucius, she talks of
how her husband showed great patience with her during her crazy shenanigans. "[He] watched
nervously as I took a ride on a Harley and silently cringed when I insisted on going
parasailing"(Yucius, 1). Even though her husband greatly disapproved of her ideas of fun and
was quite worried for her safety, he stood back with patience while Nancy's faze passed.
Last, but not least, not being judgmental is a crucial part of living an authentic life. No
one has any right to judge another person. That is the job of God. In Matthew 7:1-5 of the Bible
it is stated that, "[You shouldn't] judge others, or you will be judged... Look at yourself!"
(Nelson, 1399) God is saying that unless one has nothing to be judged for, let him not judge
others. In Harper Lee's novel, Atticus once explains to Scout, his daughter, what it is like to feel
what someone else is feeling instead of judging them. He says to Scout "'You never really
understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-...-until you climb into his
skin and walk around in it" (Lee, 30) He is informing Scout that one never really know what is
happening in anothers life, thus it is wrong to judge others.
Judgment day is a subject most talked about in most religions. It is heavily disputed and
worried about, when in actuality, God is judging us every day of our lives. "God will judge
everything, even what is done in secret, the good and the evil" (Nelson, 923). So, who are we to
judge whether others are good or evil? We are no one; we are insignificant. The social laws of
the South in the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird killed many innocent colored people.
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Atticus stood up for his colored client because he knew it to be morally right, not because anyone
forced him to. Another character in the novel once stated this while talking about the gentle
Mockingbird: "'[Mockingbirds] don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's
a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee, 90). Without knowing, the character was metaphorically
speaking of Tom Robinson. He has never harmed anyone; he is decent. He works to support his
family. Others are not to judge him for he has nothing to judge.
Authenticity is the most crucial quality of a life. One of the most challenging parts of life
is learning how to live it. There are views on how life should be lived spewing from everywhere.
The character Atticus, from the novel by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird, is constantly judged
throughout the novel. He is to defend a colored man in a southern racist community. It is almost
evident that Atticus will lose, but he sticks to his morals anyways and lives authentically. People
should live their lives as Atticus does in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: authentically. They
can do this by being truthful, patient, and by not judging others.