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Ethical Dilemmas in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird
Black and white, right and wrong; do decisions that simple and clear even exist? Does a decision ever mean gaining everything without giving anything up? Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are forced to make difficult, heart wrenching decisions that have no clear right answer. Harper Lee presents many of these important decisions in To Kill A Mockingbird as ethical dilemmas, or situations that require a choice between two difficult alternatives. Both of these alternatives have unpleasant aspects and question morals and ethics. A person is put in an awkward position, with their mind saying contradicting things. These dilemmas are presented in many different ways. The decisions in the beginning of the book are simple and can be solved quite easily, yet they are symbolic of later decisions. Other dilemmas place adult-like decisions in the lap of a child. One dilemma concerned a man burdened with the strict traditions of the South. Then there are the two biggest dilemmas, Atticus' decision to take the case and Heck Tate's choice between truth and the emotional well being of a man. Lee's ingenious storyline is established by these crucial and mentally arduous choices faced by the characters.
The first half of To Kill A Mockingbird contains many classic dilemmas that serve as models for more important problems later to come. For example, Atticus is forced into a choice between disobeying Scout's teacher and doing what he feels is right for Scout. Atticus wants Scout to retain her respect for the teacher and to continue following her instructions. Yet, he knows that the time he shares with his daughter is very important and is something that will h...
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...o take. Unlike plot, the ethical dilemmas do not follow in importance from beginning to end. The most important decision occurred in the middle of the book, however the final ethical dilemma was very important in bringing the reader a feeling of conclusion. The perfection to which the ethical dilemmas were presented and resolved was impressive and key to the stunning impact of To Kill A Mockingbird.
Sources Consulted
Erisman, Fred. "The Ethical Dilemmas of Harper Lee." Alabama Review April 26, 1983: 122-36.
Johnson, Claudia. "The Secret Courts of Men's Hearts: Code and Law in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird." Studies in American Fiction (1991):129-139.
Jones, Carolyn. "Black and White and Atticus Finch." The Southern Quarterly Summer 1999: 56-63.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York City, NY: J.B.Lippincott Company, 1990.
The life lessons and values taught in To Kill a Mockingbird is important as it teaches us many things. Through the protagonist, we are able to find the true meanings and actions of courage, how fairness and equality can create a better society, and to get to know someone before making a judgement. By learning from this novel, we can strengthen our values and morals to improve ourselves as
Many themes are demonstrated in To Kill A Mockingbird and Mississippi Trial, 1955. Three of the most predominant themes were courage, integrity, and truth. The author developed these themes gradually throughout both books by illustrating the actions and thoughts of the main characters. Because of these characteristics, Hiram Hilburn and Atticus Finch emerge as the heroes of the stories. The way in which heroes become inspirational to others is by learning from their mistakes. Atticus and Hiram both struggle with the pressure to follow the crowd, but the critical question is will they be able to do what’s best for the town?
Often in life people prejudge others, but their view changes as they get to know the person. In to kill a mockingbird by Harper lee Jem and Scout prejudge Boo Radley and their father Atticus. Jem and Scout believe their father has absolutely no skill. Throughout the book the kids get to see more of his skills. Boo Radley is considered a monster in Maycomb and Scout and Jem use the town’s judgment as their own. After learning more about Boo and getting to know him they realize he is opposite of what they thought. Because Jem and Scout are influenced by other people’s opinions they are able to learn from their mistakes and develop a new perspective on people.
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance with the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves of classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for its execution of style and the importance of its content.
The first “mockingbird” that is featured in the novel is a man named Atticus Finch. Not only is Atticus Finch the sole representative of Maycomb in the legislature, but also he is a brilliant lawyer. In addition, he has a good reputation in both Maycomb’s black and white communities because of his exceptional character. However, his reputation is soon shattered when he is faced with a case in court that affects him personally: he must defend an African American man in court in Maycomb’s segregated society. If Atticus chooses to try defending the man, he will lose his good status in town, since his racist American neighbors will soon disrespect him for treating the African Americans as equal to the Americans, which is highly unacceptable in the United States during the 1930s. However, Atticus still accepted the case believing that if he does not, he w...
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 200).
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...
Has evil always been around, or did man create it? One could trace evil all the way back to Adam and Eve; however, evil came to them, but it was not in them. When did evil become part of a person? No one knows, but evil has been around for a long time and unfortunately is discovered by everyone. In many great classics in literature evil is at the heart or the theme of the novel, including Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This classic book demonstrates the growing up of two children in the South and illustrates the theme of evil by showing how they discover, how they deal, and how they reconcile themselves to the evils they experience.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch, a well-respected defense attorney in Macomb County, made a life-altering decision to whole-heartedly defend a benevolent black man, Tom Robinson, who was wrongly accused of rape. Many conflicts arose because of Atticus’s choice to defend a black man against a white man’s word. Despite the towns cowardice and ridicule, Atticus stays true to what is right. “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience” (140). Throughout the story Scout, Atticus’s daughter, transforms from a trouble maker always looking to pick a fight with anyone she disagreed with, into a young lady who was able to follow her father’s example and “consider things from his point of view... you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it” (30). Through Atticus’s wise, unchanging character, the theme is revealed. The bond between Atticus and Scout teaches her the one thing that he was trying to do all along: Don’t just fight; stand up and fight for what is right, no matter what the cost.
Atticus was a man of strong morals and conscience and in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, had to overcome the backlash and hate from defending Tom Robinson. With what seemed to be the majority of Maycomb County against him and his own safety at stake, Atticus knew that he couldn’t win the trial. Yet accompanied by his rationality, good ethics and determination he overcomes the trial. It is not the desired ending, but for his efforts in the trial, Atticus gains the respect of the black community and the respect of others in Maycomb by following through and overcoming the challenges that followed the
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. You know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was misperceived at first. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, but after he led Santa’s sleigh, they loved him. Misperceptions like this happen all throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. As you read the novel you see original judgments made about characters transform into new conceptions and new understandings. Some characters twist your views of them on purpose, others do it involuntarily. To Kill a Mockingbird shows this happening over and over again. All you have to do is look for it.
Despite cultures and conflicts, the fundamental bonds remain: We all belong to a common family. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a timeless classic about coming of age in a small southern town in the 1930’s. The book follows Jem and Scout, two siblings, who must face the harsh realities of life. Hypocrisy and racism together make the two most important themes.
In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the protagonist Scout faces offenses by others because of her father's justice for defending an African American in court. Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, in the sleepy town of Maycomb during the Great Depression. As Atticus, the father of the protagonist faces the moral dilemma in chapter 29-30 of the incident with Bob Ewell. Atticus moral dilemma reveals his character and beliefs. Bob Ewell attempted to hurt Atticus children in order to get revenge on Atticus for defending the African American who was accused of raping his daughter in court.