Examples Of Conscience In To Kill A Mockingbird

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We all have a conscience that tells us to do the right thing. When we make bad decisions, our conscience isn’t, well, conscious. Either that, or we ignore it completely. No matter how adamant you are, your thoughts may overpower your conscience and make you do something regrettable. This predicament is showcased in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee quite often. Many of the characters ignore what they know is right and act upon what they think will result in a better outcome than that of doing the right thing. The narrator of the story, Scout Finch, is a curious young girl who is surprisingly mature for her age. When her older brother Jem, and shared friend Dill go to the intriguing Radley house to deliver a note to Boo Radley, whom Macomb County hasn’t seen in 15 years, Scout is …show more content…

As further evidence is procured, this is proven to be false. The truth is that Mayella’s father beat her for making romantic advances towards Tom. Mayella is unlike the rest of the Ewells in the sense that she likes to keep herself tidy, and lives in a more sophisticated manner than the rest of her family. This makes me infer that she is quite taciturn, and a kind-hearted person who wouldn’t lie about what happened that day if it weren’t for something taking over her conscience. Being threatened by her acrimonious father to lie about what really happened set aside what she knew to be right and pushed her to lie in the trial. Both pressure and fear make people do what they know is not the right thing to do, even though their conscience tells them otherwise. Doing the wrong thing may dispel fears or pressure that is put on for a certain instance. There are many reasons why people do what they know isn’t right even though their conscience tells them not to, but sometimes this can help them construct their values, and improve on how susceptible they are to their

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