Atticus Finch is “ol' one shot” and is known for his marksmanship in town. When a rabid dog named Tim Johnson comes wandering into town diseased and mad, Heck Tate asks Atticus to shoot the dog. Heck Tate knows that if he misses the dog, the bullet can go into the Radley house. Atticus calmly lowers the shotgun and shoots the dog with one bullet.
The rabid dog is often thought to be symbolic of a disease Maycomb suffers—racism. Like the madness rabies causes, racism causes the same irrational behaviors. This disease causes people to be illogical and focused on the subjugation of blacks. By Atticus shooting the dog with one shot, it symbolically suggests that he also has “one shot” to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence and cure Maycomb of the disease of racism and injustice.
When Miss Maudie tells Scout and Jem about Atticus’ ability to shoot, the children have new-found respect for their father who they once thought boring and ordinary.
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