At one point in To Kill a Mockingbird, a dog with rabies slowly walks up to the house of our hero family, the Finches. After housekeeper Calpurnia promptly drags the kids, who discovered the threat, off the street, she calls for their dad, Atticus, to come home.
Soon, Atticus returns with the sheriff in tow, and the two wait for the doomed animal to come within shooting range. As soon as it does, Atticus prompts the sheriff to take the shot, but the latter refuses. To the surprise of everyone watching, he hands the gun to Atticus. “Mr. Finch, this is a one-shot job,” he says. Atticus claims he hasn’t fired a gun in 30 years, and the two go back and forth on who should do what’s necessary. Until, eventually, the sheriff just blares out: “For God’s sake, Mr. Finch, look where he is! Miss and you’ll go straight into the Radley house! I can’t shoot that well and you know it!”
Reluctantly, Atticus takes the rifle. The nearly 50-year-old lawyer walks into the middle of the street, takes off his glasses, whips up the gun to his shoulder in one swift motion, and before the mad dog can look around twice, he drops dead on the street. Within seconds, everyone is sad but safe.
Later in the day, the kids Jem and Scout, who’ve never seen their dad do anything remarkable, are still shocked at Atticus’ hidden talent. They discuss it with Miss Maudie, a neighbor, and she explains how, even as a boy, “One-Shot Finch” was “the deadest shot in Maycomb County.” As the kids remain incredulous as to why Atticus would never have told him about his skill, she even leaves them with a useful bit of advice: “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”
During the 2024 Olympics, the Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç went viral for his casual attire and pose while firing his pistol with one hand. At nearly 52 years old, he was even older than Atticus, and—after winning the Silver medal—Turkey’s oldest Olympic medalist. He kind of appeared out of nowhere, and back to nowhere he went right after. He, too, was a humble shooter—and whether he read the book or not, he sure seems to have heeded Miss Maudie’s advice.
Shoot the mad dog if you have to, but remember: “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”