Bob Ewell had a great amount of contempt toward Atticus during and after the trial. One day, Atticus left the post office in Maycomb. Bob Ewell approached Atticus with a string of threats. He spat on him and even threatened to murder him. Instead of verbally fighting back, "Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring [Miss Stephanie] to repeat" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23). Atticus told Mr. Ewell that he was too old to be fighting and he humbly walked away.
Scout and Jem did not like their father's reaction. They wished that he would have fought Bob Ewell. They knew that their father was an excellent shot. In addition to these feelings, the children were also scared. They thought Mr. Ewell was a dangerous man. They expressed their feelings to their father. He told them that he did not regret the work he did in the courtroom. Atticus responded to their concerns:
"So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there."
Atticus was willing to sacrifice to better the lives of others.
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