Parent-Child Relationships

            The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has many instances where good as well as bad parent-child relationships are present. The relationship between Atticus, Jem, and Scout is one example. Another example of this is the relationship between Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob Ewell. A third example of this is between Dill and his parents. .
             Atticus gave Jem and Scout a very good home life. He was always very fair with both of them and taught them a lot about life. He would help Scout learn to read and answer all of her questions about the world. He also loved Jem and helped him with whatever he needed help with. Atticus is a very loving and warm-hearted father. He did everything he could for his children and sometimes a little more. Calpurnia was another parental model for Jem and Scout. She loved both of them and would do anything for them. She brought both of them to church one day and stood up for them when a woman called out that since they were white they shouldn't be there. She loved them like they were her own kids. .
             Mayella Ewell had a terrible parent-child relationship. Her father beat up on her. She was always left at home by herself with no one to talk to or confide in. Her home life was a complete opposite of Jem and Scout's. She just wanted to be loved by someone, but once someone actually cared for her, even though it wasn't love, she accused him of terrible things and then was not cared for by him any longer. Her family life is a representation of the family life that no one wants to live. .
             Dill had a tough family life. He was always being passed around from household to household. He didn't really have anyone that he considered a parent. No one ever wanted to keep him in his or her own house for very long. In the summer he stayed with some of his family that lived near Jem and Scout. Dill looked at Jem and Scout as his family. .
             The family values that were expressed in the novel are still present today.