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As a Chinese person, I find it hard to understand that Atticus Finch's children call him "Atticus" instead of "Dad" and Atticus felt no disrespect.

I googled it and found someone said, Dill asks Scout, "why do you call your daddy Atticus?", and Scout replies, "because Jem does." I feel that excuse unconvincing.

I asked ChatGPT and it said

In Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch's children, Scout and Jem, call him "Atticus" out of respect and admiration for him as a father figure and as a moral authority in their lives. It is also a way for them to distinguish him from the other fathers in their community, who they see as less admirable.

I feel that is even more unconvincing, that Scout and Jem, call him "Atticus" out of respect and admiration for him as a father figure*?!

--- update ---

Except for the answer in Why do Jem and Scout call their father Atticus?, like the unorthodoxy of the family, addressing their father as equal, can "treating his children with courteous detachment" be another reason ?

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  • Not exactly the same because that question asked "My question is not why they call their father Atticus as much as why he lets them do this". But that Q&A gives some idea. Thanks. – Qiulang 邱朗 Oct 16 '23 at 14:44
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    Why would you expect an automated sentence generator to give a sensible answer about social relations between humans? :-) – Rand al'Thor Oct 16 '23 at 15:27
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    I don't expect ChatGPT to answer questions about Chinese literature. As a matter of fact in my test it gives some absurd answers to some common questions. But for English literature, I thought maybe I could give it a go. :D – Qiulang 邱朗 Oct 17 '23 at 01:42
  • Related question: Why did they call him 'Attticus' instead of 'Sir"? – Tsundoku Oct 17 '23 at 06:48
  • @Tsundoku I don't know if there is some cultural difference here, calling my father by his first name is unacceptable as well as calling him "Sir". But I don't see how they are related. – Qiulang 邱朗 Oct 17 '23 at 07:17
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    In English-speaking countries it's very unusual for children to call their parents by their given names, but if they do it's because the parents have taught them to do so. One of my cousins brought up his children to address his brother and his wife's sister by their names,without 'Uncle' and 'Auntie', which I found strange at first. – Kate Bunting Oct 17 '23 at 08:41

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