Discussion Topic
Mr. Avery's Character and Role in To Kill a Mockingbird
Summary:
Mr. Avery is a minor yet colorful character in To Kill a Mockingbird, known for his humorous and idiosyncratic behavior. Living near the Finch family, he entertains and annoys the children by whittling, sneezing, and peeing off his porch. He jokingly blames them for changing seasons due to their misbehavior. Despite his eccentricities, Mr. Avery shows courage during Miss Maudie's house fire by attempting to save her belongings, adding depth to his character as both resourceful and brave.
Who is Mr. Avery and what is his role in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Mr. Avery is one of the Finches’ neighbors. He does not do much, but he likes to whittle.
Mr. Avery lives down the street, boarding with Mrs. Dubose.
Besides making change in the collection plate every Sunday, Mr. Avery sat on the porch every night until nine o'clock and sneezed. (ch 6)
The children only seem interested in him when they see him peeing at a great distance in the yard, something that Scout cannot do because she is “untalented in this area” being a girl.
Mr. Avery does not seem to do much. He whittles, but does not actually carve anything more than toothpicks.
Mr. Avery averaged a stick of stovewood per week; he honed it down to a toothpick and chewed it. (ch 7)
He convinces the children that seasons are caused by children being bad (ch 8). The children return the favor when they make their snowman look...
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like him, untilAtticus makes them disguise it.
Mr. Avery is not completely useless though. He does try to help Miss Maudie rescue her possessions from the house fire, though he is injured and laid up for a week in the process (ch 8).
In general, Mr. Avery is just one of the colorful characters that populate Maycomb. His interactions with the children usually provide some comic relief, and reinforce the idea that Maycomb is full of interesting people.
What adjective describes Mr. Avery in To Kill a Mockingbird and what actions support this?
Adjectives that could describe Mr. Avery include colorful, idiosyncratic, cheap, resourceful, and courageous.
Certain actions—like when Mr. Avery pees off of his porch and when he insists that the children's misbehavior is what causes the seasons to change to winter—show Mr. Avery to be colorful and idiosyncratic. Mr. Avery is probably just showing a dry sense of humor when he tells Jem and Scout that they are responsible for the cold, but (like most children) Scout is a literalist. Therefore, she takes his words seriously and feels guilty when the winter weather comes. Mr. Avery comes across to her and Jem as "cross."
Mr. Avery's cheapness is evident in his act of taking change from the church's collection plate on Sunday.
Mr. Avery shows his courage when he goes to the second floor of Miss Maudie's house during the fire and pushes furniture out of the window. He almost gets stuck up there, but he reveals that he is resourceful when he manages to push his bulk through the upstairs window and to safety.
Mr. Avery could be considered a "crotchety" old man. He's an old fart to say the least. Proof is in chapter 8 when it says that according to Avery, "when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes and made war on each other, the seasons would change." Jem and Scout had to constantly live in guilt since they were the only kids on the block. They received his scorn most of the time without even speaking with Avery.