I think Atticus never revealed that he was an expert marksman because he did not want his children, and the town to see him as the person he was, not the person who he is. The kids want to know about their dad, and they think he is boring. At the beginning of the chapter, Scout says" Atticus was feeble:he was nearly fifty. When Jem and I asked him why he was so old, he said he got started late, which we felt reflected on his abilities and manliness(P118)", and that shows that his kids don't think of him as the super macho awesome dad. I think this shows that he wants to let the past stay in the past, and live his life in the moment. Towards the end of the chapter, a mad dog is coming down the street, and Atticus shoots it. When Atticus shoots the dog so quickly, Scout and Jem are surprised, and while Scout wants to brag Jem stops her. Think Jem realized what Atticus was trying to do by not telling them. The other adults in the neighborhood also don't mention this, instead talking about checkers and the Jewish harp. At the end Jem says that he is a real gentleman like his father, and says he must of had a reason to not mention it. I think this shows that this is an topic that is uncomfortable with his ability.
Question: Do you think Atticus should have spoken about this to Jem and Scout?
Atticus never let his kids know that he was a very good shooter because he wants that part of himself to be in the past. I would also like to add that Atticus also didn't want Scout and Jem to think that having a great shot equalled courage. When Jem is finished with reading to Mrs. Dubose, Atticus explains why he wanted Jem to read to her. He says, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand" (Lee, 149). Atticus knows that a boy Jem's age would likely find it cool-looking and would feel courageous if he was a very good marksman, and shot a gun all the time. This is the wrong thing to think, and Atticus knows that. He knows that the real kind of courage that he should be teaching to his children is going to a sick, vicious old woman's home and reading to her two hours a day for a whole month, and not letting her provocative comments upset him. All in all, Atticus didn't tell his kids he was an expert shooter because he thought that it would give them the wrong ideas about courage.
ReplyDeleteI think he never revealed himself as a shooter because he did not want his kids to do harm to anything. In these chapters he had killed a dog. He basically described it as a cowardly act. He also described that it showed that he did not have any courage. I think he has never told his children because he does not want them to be non courageous
ReplyDeleteI think that Atticus didn’t tell his kids that he was a good shooter because he wanted to protect them in a way. His kids look up to him in a respectful, great way so maybe he thought that if they found out then maybe they might be disappointed or upset that he would do this. He just wants that part of him to stay out of his life. Maybe he just wants it to stay in the past. In the book when the dog is walking along the streets and Mr. Heck Tate tells Atticus to shoot the dog, he hesitates a little bit. That was probably because he was afraid to let his kids know that he was a very good shooter.
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ReplyDeleteI think he concealed the fact that is is able to shoot, because the connotations of shooting something go against the things Atticus has taught his children, such as not fighting, and being kind to everyone. Although it was necessary to shoot the dog, I think Atticus realized he has to trust that Scout and Jem know the difference between shooting for sport, and shooting to protect someone.
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ReplyDeleteI think Atticus tried to hide the fact he was a talented shooter because that's what he did in the past and he wants his kids to see him not as a shooter but as the dad they admire. When Atticus shot the dog, he wasn't proud that he killed the dog he was ashamed. If I were Atticus, I wouldn't want my kids to know because that I was an expert Marksman because I would assume they'd be shocked and maybe even hurt.
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