When Atticus is handed the gun, he chooses not to kill the dog, but then he persuaded to kill the supposedly rabid dog. The dog was actually limping. Being a lawyer, he should have checked - limping does not mean dog-being-rabid.
If the point is of being protective about children, this point was blown out of propotation, when he clearly states to Jem that he would not be able to protect him or Scout all the time in a different scene.
So, why kill the dog?
The dog had rabies. It was a danger to the people, and to other animals. The only way to remove the danger was to kill it.
"I can't sit down. These aren't my pants."
He was reluctant to take the gun not because the dog did not have rabies but because he had not shot in along time. It also showed Jem that his dad was cooler than he thought. Jem thought his dad was too old to do anything with him and Atticus being the best shot in the county meant something to Jem.
shareMaking a point to Jem was merely a byproduct of Atticus doing what needed to me done; it was NOT why he killed the dog.
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We were supposed to assume it was rabid. There's no cure and it's too dangerous to be let live.
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Why kill the negro? Get the metaphor?
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Actually the rabid dog Tim Johnson (and the town’s reaction to him) is emblematic of racism. Folks shut themselves behind closed doors so as to avoid the danger, or tacitly accept it. When the flash point arrives, even the sheriff looks to Atticus (who is nearly blind in one eye) to shoot Tim Johnson. The dog presents a clear and present danger to society. Tom Robinson (save in the minds of Bob Ewel and others of his ilk) presents no such danger.
shareHe doesn't want the dog to bite or get his children etc sick.
shareExactly , someone already asked why this incident about killing the dog was so important about the plot. I suppose it is symbolic , the dog was dangerous so killing it they pritected their families as well Boo killing the bad guy he protected also the children of the town. So boo is innoncent , even commiting a murder. He had to..
shareWhy don't you worry about the dead man who got falsely accused of rape instead
shareBecause it's ALL part of the story. Why do you bother with a film like this if you do not think about it before blurting out some dumb response to a legitimate question?
shareOK THE QUESTION IS REALLY ...WHY WRITE INTO THE SCRIPT TO KILL A DOG THAT`S OBVIOUSLY RABID,RABIES IN THOSE DAY IT WAS MAJOR CONCERNS SO THAT FIT.....ANSWER...TO SHOW JEB THAT HIS FATHER WAS MORE THEN WHAT HE EVER IMAGINED WHERE IN THE SCENE JUST BEFORE JEB TELLS THE SHERIFF TO TAKE THE SHOT HIS FATHER CANT DO ANYTHING I BELIEVE WERE HIS WORDS,AND AFTERWARDS THE LOOK ON JEBS FACE AND THE SHERIFF THEN TELLING HIM ...DIDNT YOU KNOW YOUR FATHERS THE BEST SHOT IN THE COUNTY
shareIf he went up to the dog, he would have indefinitly have been bitten...
Why take that stupid chance when it comes to rabbies?!
Royale with Cheese! - Pulp Fiction
The dog does not care who/what it bites, even with a limp it still is infected with rabies. It will bite anything and anybody. Therefore killing it is the only way to provide public health and safety.
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