Analysis of Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate as Heroes

In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are many characters who prove themselves to be heroic. This novel is set in the 1930’s, and is all about a family’s life over a few year time period. To Kill A Mockingbird shows how society is in their little southern town and gives examples of racism, prejudice, and many more real-life, even present day, issues. This essay will prove why Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate, all characters in the novel, should be considered heroes in To Kill A Mockingbird.

To begin, many heros share character traits with each other. For example, common traits are honesty, stubbornness and being brave. Atticus Finch embodies all of these traits in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. In the novel, Atticus continuously sets a good example for his children, causing them to look at him as their idol. Atticus always stays true to himself and does the right thing, not the easiest thing. His actions set a good foundation for his children, Jem and Scout, which has influenced their behaviour and their actions as well. “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”, is a direct quote from Atticus himself that demonstrates one of the many times Atticus has taught his children his ways, and told them the right thing to do (Lee 34). Atticus is a hero to his children simply by the way he saved their minds from the way society, and their little southern town thinks.

Another reason Atticus Finch should be considered a hero is because of the way he helps others. Atticus does good with getting little to nothing or only hate from the town in return. For instance, Atticus is a lawyer and took the case of a innocent black man who no one else was interested in helping. As soon as he stepped up and took the case he knew the backlash and consequences the trial would have, but he stood his ground because it was the right thing to do. To prove, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” is a quote from To Kill A Mockingbird, that Atticus said, proving that he is a stubborn, brave man who only intends on doing the right thing (Lee 87). To sum up, Atticus Finch is a kind, brave, hard working person who is heroic in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird and should be seen as more than just a regular character for that. Secondly, to be a hero it is shown in your actions.

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a single character who is portrayed as a hero solely by his actions. The characters name is Boo Radley. Boo Radley is a quiet, shy man who on a couple occasions proved himself to be a hero. Boo kept to himself throughout the novel but always was present when he was needed. On one occasion Boo helped Atticus’ child, Scout, in a time of need. When their community was helping a neighbor when her house caught on fire, Boo stayed in the house until he saw Scout struggling. Boo politely set a blanket on Scout without making a scene and slipped away so no one would see. Since he is often misunderstood Scout and her family thought it was best to keep the kind gesture to themselves, “We’d better keep this and the blanket to ourselves. Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up” (Lee 96). This quote continues to show how the family appreciates and realizes Boo’s wishes, which is to not make a scene. The way Boo put himself in the vulnerable position of being in public, just to help someone, goes to show how and why his heroic action qualifies Boo Radley to be called a hero. On another occasion, Boo did a even bigger act of kindness, just from the goodness of his heart, to help Atticus’ children. This event that involved Boo was not only a major turning in point in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird itself, but really revealed to the audience Boo Radley’s true self. One night Jem and Scout, Atticus’ children, were attacked by a man and Boo rescued them, but his only way to save them was kill the man. With Boo’s past and just because he is often misunderstood, this was a very risky move for him but he did it no matter the consequences. “The man was walking with a staccato step of someone carrying a load too heavy for him” is a quote from Scout directly after the attack as she was trying to understand what was happening (Lee 352). This quote can be taken in two ways, one being Boo’s body is tired from fighting or another being he understands what he has done and what the end result will be, so he has anxiety of how the rest of the situation is going to go down. Either way Boo did a heroic act that saved lives without second thought, which is what heroes are known to do.

To finish, there is one last character to mention that should be considered a hero in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. This character is the sheriff of town and an outstanding one at that. His name is Heck Tate and here are the reasons he is a hero. At a major event in the novel, Heck did a great deed for not only Atticus, his children, and Boo Radley, but also for their whole town. Heck Tate is not very present in the novel but in this specific instance he proved himself to be a understanding, brave man. After the attack when Boo saves the children, Heck chose to understand the situation and do the right thing, rather than do what society tells him to. Society would tell Heck Tate to put the blame on Boo, who is a criminal, but who also saved the children’s lives. Instead, Heck used his own thought process and looked for the best in the situation. Heck Tate ruled the investigation as the attacker killed himself just so Boo, Jem, and Scout, would not have to go through an unnecessary trial and other events, when the attacker being dead was a favor for the whole town anyway. “I never heard that it’s against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed which is exactly what he did…” is a direct quote from Heck Tate in To Kill A Mockingbird explaining to Atticus why he chose to rule the way he did (Lee 63). Heck also saved Atticus from even more backlash from the town since he just got through with a trial himself. Even with Atticus’ resistance, Heck Tate held his ground and did the right thing, just as a true hero does. In this quote, “I may not be much, Mr. Finch, but I’m still the sheriff of Maycomb county and Bob Ewell fell on his knife”, Heck Tate is telling Atticus how he is ruling the investigation and how there is nothing Atticus can do about it(Lee 62, 63). Heck making a decision based off of what is right and what is in the best favor of other people, is brave of him because of the society they live in. Heck Tate should be considered a hero for his understandingness of the major turn of events in the novel. Without his quick thinking, stubbornness, and kind heart many people could have been hurt.

Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate are all characters in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird who should be considered heroes. While the characters are not perfect, they did right by others and acted kind. Their best judgement helped and saved people, which should be accounted for on all levels of spectrum in this novel.