What adjectives would you use to describe Atticus Finch ?

Atticus is principled and compassionate. He does not live by the same rules as the rest of his society. Although he is assigned Tom Robinson’s case, he actually does his best to win it. No one expects him to, and even arguing the case makes him pretty unpopular.

Atticus is unusual in how he views the world. He sends his children to read to Mrs. Dubose, an old woman trying to wean herself off a morphine addiction. He wants them to realize courage comes in many forms, saying,

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do (Chapter 11). 

Atticus believes his children will benefit from seeing someone win her own fight. He thinks it will give them a better understanding of what he is about to do. Atticus will have to show similar courage in defending Tom Robinson in the trial, because his defense of a black man is so unpopular in Maycomb.

Scout often gets into arguments because people insult her father. Atticus wants Scout and Jem to understand why he feels he needs to defend Tom, even though he is unlikely to win. It is the attempt that matters to Atticus, because attempting to help is the right thing to do, whether he was appointed or not.

The compassion Atticus feels for others is something he tries to pass on to his children. Atticus teaches Scout and Jem to treat their neighbors and people of lower classes and different skin colors with respect. He tells Scout that she needs to look at things from others’ perspectives. 

“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Chapter 3). 

It is Atticus’s ability to walk around inside other people's skins that makes him such a good lawyer. He can make the jury feel for him. He can be compassionate for Tom Robinson despite his skin color. He understands Mayella Ewell is lonely and that her father beat her. Atticus knows how other people think.