Since Atticus is not the protagonist of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, rather Scout is, Atticus does not do a great deal of maturing. However, like all characters in the book, Atticus must deal with his own prejudice, despite his personal philosophy to view all things from others' perspectives. By the end of the book, Atticus is forced to face his own prejudice and matures as a result.
Since the word prejudice can be defined as "any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable," we know that not all prejudices are negative views; some can be positive views (Random House Dictionary). What makes a prejudice a prejudice is that it is based on a person's subjective feelings, not on objective facts. Unlike other characters in the book who view people through negative prejudices, Atticus has a tendency to optimistically view others through a very positive prejudice. More specifically, Atticus is willing to see goodness in all of humanity, which is why when faced with a mob led by Walter Cunningham Sr., he doesn't fear for his life. As he explains to Scout, "Mr. Cunningham's basically a good man. ... [H]e just has his blind spots with the rest of us" (Ch. 16). Atticus further explains to his children that since a mob is made up of people, it can always be stopped because people are essentially good and sensible.
Atticus even extends this reasoning to Bob Ewell, which is why when, after the trial, Ewell spits in his face and says "he'd get [Atticus] if it took the rest of his life," Atticus does not take the threat as seriously as either his children or his sister Alexandra. Yet, by the end of the book, sadly, Atticus discovers just how seriously Ewell meant his threat when he nearly takes the lives of Atticus's children, a murderous act Ewell would have succeeded in had Arthur Radley not come to their rescue. Even after the event, Atticus still has difficulty wrapping his mind around the idea that a sane man could do something so evil, and Sheriff Heck Tate must explain to Atticus the evil natures of some men:
Mr. Finch, there's just some kind of men you have to shoot before you can say hidy to 'em. Even then, the ain't worth the bullet it takes to shoot 'em. Ewell 'as one of 'em. (Ch. 29)
Sheriff Tate must further explain to him that part of what made Ewell's nature so evil was his cowardice, a characteristic completely opposite of Atticus's own bravery. Atticus had successfully exposed Ewell as a scoundrel in court, yet, even though Atticus was the one who exposed Ewell as a fool, Ewell didn't have the guts to go after Atticus. Instead, he went after Tom Robinson's innocent wife Helen, Judge Taylor, and Atticus's children.
Though it takes Atticus a while, he is forced to realize that not all men are good by nature; some are evil by nature. Plus, Atticus is forced to realize that if he had not prejudicedly judged Ewell to be a generally good person despite his faults, Atticus would have taken Ewell's threat more seriously, and his children would not have come in harm's way. Through these realizations, Atticus matures by the end of the book.
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