What did Cousin Joshua do and how does he become a wedge between Aunt Alexandra and Atticus? Cousin Josh was locked up for trying to shoot the president. Aunt Alex refuses to accept that and makes him out to be a "beautiful character."

In chapter 13, Aunt Alexandra attempts to teach Jem and Scout about their family history and shows them a book titled Meditations of Joshua S. St. Clair. Aunt Alexandra then tells the children their cousin wrote the book and refers to him as a "beautiful character." Jem asks if it is written by the same cousin who was arrested for attempting to assassinate the president. Jem continues to elaborate on Cousin Joshua's embarrassing life story by saying,

"...Cousin Joshua said he wasn’t anything but a sewer inspector and tried to shoot him with an old flintlock pistol, only it just blew up in his hand. Atticus said it cost the family five hundred dollars to get him out of that one—" (Lee, 133).

According to Atticus, Cousin Joshua was a deranged fanatic, and he would not consider him a "beautiful character." Jem's knowledge of Cousin Joshua upsets Aunt Alexandra, who views him as a respected relative and a source of pride in their family. Atticus's contrasting view of Cousin Joshua upsets his sister, who is attempting to showcase the influential relatives in their family. Cousin Joshua's story illustrates that even the most respected families have embarrassing, mentally unhinged relatives.