The Proper Etiquette of Genuine Gentlemen The first step to being a gentleman is of course showing respect. Or is it courage? Or education? Although Jem Finch may think that most of the men that live in Maycomb are gentlemen, Atticus Finch says otherwise. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem characterizes himself along with his father as being true gentlemen. What makes up a gentleman? One might ask this question when trying to find out what the true definition of the word is. If one were to look up gentlemen in the dictionary the definition would be: a man from a good family; a well-bread male, but if Atticus Finch were to define the word the definition would be completely different. Atticus believes that to be a true gentleman …show more content…
His humble nature leads his children to think that he is week and an uninteresting father. In reality though, Atticus is very good at anything he does. His confidence in doing these things leads him to be a humble man. He knows that he “is the best shot in Maycomb” (Lee pg or chapter?) but he does not show off his talent since he was born with it and did not work diligently to achieve such good talents. Atticus also tells his children that Mrs. Debose “is the bravest person he knows” (Lee pg or chapter?). This is once again a humble statement that Atticus states because he, himself shows courage. Atticus believes that being humble is a true characteristic of being a gentleman. Atticus is also as brave as a man needs to be, if not more. First of all, he accepts and defends a black man, which is frowned upon, in a very racial prejudice town. Along with that, he sits outside of his defendant’s jail cell because he knows that a mob is going to appear at the prison and kill Tom Robinson. Even though defending a black man is practically not allowed in Maycomb, Atticus still performs as Tom Robinson’s lawyer fearlessly. Atticus believes that having courage is a true characteristic of being a