Question

Atticus is not upset that mrs dubose calls him foul names behind his back. To scout, he explains , " it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you". Explain his meaning. Do you agree or disagree with him? Why? Finally, give a real-world example from your life to illustrate your point.

Answer 1

His meaning is that being called a bad name doesn't necessarily make it true, and by "it just shows how poor that person is" means that it shows you how terrible one person can be to spread rumors or insult someone behind their back.  I agree with his view because his view is true on all points.  It shows how bad people can be.  A real world example would be like if your ex is spreading terrible rumors about you, or saying you were a terrible person.  However, they go around and spread nasty rumors and call you names, only showing their true colors.  Hope this helped!

-TTL

Answer 2

What Atticus means in this statement is that when someone uses fould words or offends someone else, it indicates that the person is rude, disrespectful or mean. Therefore, it allows you to learn a lot about the speaker in question. However, it says little about the person being addressed, because the words can only affect them if they allow them to do so.

An example of everyday life can be when people tell you that it is ridiculous for you to try out something new. When someone says this, it shows that they are prejudiced, small-minded or fearful, and that they want to affect you. However, if you try new things anyway, then the words do not affect you and you are not allowing them to have any impact over you. The words can only hurt you if you allow them to do so.