TKAM Character Relationship Blog

Characters: Atticus, and Aunt Alexandra

    I feel as though Atticus and Aunt Alexandra have a very interesting relationship. Some of the similarities that they have are their views on racism. They both aren't racist, and dislike the cruelty to negros in Maycomb. Another reason, is that they are siblings. At time, they can be so different, you can hardly tell that they are brother and sister! They were raised by the same people, so they most likely have picked up some similar things. The last reason is that they care about Scout and Jem's well being, unlike Bob Ewell. 

    As similar as Atticus and Aunt Alexandra can be, they are also quite different. First of all, they are different genders. I also feel as though Aunt Alexandra is strict, while Atticus is more carefree. Aunt Alexandra believes that Scout should be more like a lady, while Atticus thinks Scout should be herself. Another difference between Aunt Alexandra and Atticus is their style of parenting. This also foreshadows their personalities in general. Aunt Alexandra believes that children need to behave like young adults. Atticus thinks they should be like children.

   In To Kill A Mockingbird, both of them have a close relationship to Scout, especially Atticus. As her father, Atticus would naturally have a close relationship with her. Scout tells him a lot of things, and blatantly asks him questions, that a third grader shouldn't be asking. Aunt Alexandra and Scout weren't as close at the beginning of the book, but later on, they learned to accept each other more. When Aunt Alexandra was first introduced, they both despised each other quite a bit. Scout didn't like how strict she was, and Aunt Alexandra didn't like how Scout wasn't acting like a lady. Although, they learned to accept each other more and more later on, strengthening their relationship.

 Lastly, both Atticus and Aunt Alexandra have a large impact on Scout. At one point, Scout was impressed my Aunt Alexandra's maturity after Tom Robinson's trial. Atticus also has an effect on Scout because he is like a role model for her. Atticus teaches her many important life lessons, that Scout will probably remember and cherish for the rest of her life. For example, one time Atticus told her to jump into somebody's skin and walk around in it. This was huge because it is something that everybody needs to do. Therefore, Atticus and Aunt Alexandra have had quite a large impact on Scout.