Do we like them?

Do we like Atticus Finch?

A character from To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes, easily. He's honest, patient and brave without making a show of it, and he is the kind of person you'd want as your lawyer, your neighbour and your dad.

Atticus Finch is a respected lawyer in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the Great Depression. The novel is narrated by his young daughter Scout. He is a widower raising Scout and her brother Jem, and he encourages them to be empathetic and just.

His main lesson to his children is to try to understand people by seeing things from their point of view. He lives by it, treating neighbours, rivals and even people who insult him with calm courtesy. He also doesn't boast about his talents. His children are surprised to learn he was once known as the best shot in the county.

The story's central test comes when the judge asks Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of a crime. Much of Maycomb disapproves. Atticus takes the case anyway and defends Tom with everything he has, even though the town makes his family pay for it.

We score him 9 out of 10 because his courage is quiet, consistent and kind, and he sets a model of integrity that many readers and lawyers still cite. He loses a point because some critics argue he chips away at injustice through the courtroom rather than tackling it head-on. Even so, he is among literature's most admired decent men.