Don't Get Mad, Just Be Atticus Finch

By: Alex

Graphic made by Alex

It’s hard to believe in your dreams when you’re surrounded by people who don’t give you a chance. Don’t get me wrong, I have lots of supportive people in my life. But sometimes, the dreamers don’t get the opportunities they deserve. As an ambitious teen, I want to immediately get even with the people who say I’ll never amount to anything and show them everything they’re missing out on. But I don’t, because I learned from my role model, Atticus Finch, that revenge is not the way to get ahead. Atticus proves that righteousness always triumphs over revenge.

Thanks to Atticus, I know how to carry myself through life’s struggles. From Harper Lee’s masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch serves as THE PERFECT example of who to be.  In the book, Atticus is a lawyer defending a black man named Tom Robinson in a small, conservative, southern town. The man against him, Bob Ewell makes Atticus’ life miserable because of his decision to support Robinson. Narrow minded, bigoted, and offensive, Ewell brings danger and hardships to Atticus and his family, but Atticus never fights back. Despite all the judgment and hate he receives from the townspeople, Atticus remains steadfast in his decision to support a black man because he knows, above all, that he is doing the right thing.
What makes Atticus so righteous is not only his decision to support an innocent man, but also his decision not to get even with those who hate him for it. Instead of getting revenge, Atticus found a way to prove himself through other means. By being courageous and supporting the underdog, Atticus demonstrated his worth to the town, giving them something to believe in and showing them the true meaning of courage.

Through this story, Atticus made it obvious to me that there will always be people who don’t believe in you or try to discredit you because they disagree. But the most important thing I learned from him is that it doesn’t matter. By having confidence in my decisions, I can have pride in what I do. If people condemn me for believing in myself and doing the right thing, then I welcome it. And I won’t be the one to want to get even; I’ll prove my worth some other way.

When Bob Ewell spit on Atticus, he didn’t spit back. He just walked away. And what happened in the end? Bob Ewell hated his life and Atticus had a great moment of satisfaction, knowing that he provided such a good example for his children to look up to.

Doing the right thing is all that matters. So when any Bob Ewells come up in my life, I surely wont be spitting back at them for revenge. I can go on living my Atticus-inspired life, with no regrets. And one day when the Bob Ewells see what I made of myself, they’ll be sorry they ever spit my way.