Examples Of Atticus Lessons In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl named Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus. They all live in the small town of Maycomb Alabama during the Great Depression. Atticus is a lawyer who is known for his level-headed ways and philosophical tendencies. Throughout the story Scout and Jem learn many moral lessons from Atticus. Some of the moral lessons the children learn is that you don't really understand someone until you put yourself in their shoes, never give up no matter the outcome, and to not kill mockingbirds.
One of the first lessons Atticus teaches Scout is to put herself in someone else's shoes. At the beginning of the story Scout was so concerned about what other people were doing and not so much why they were doing it. For example, throughout the story Scout and Jem are so devoted to find out why their neighbor Boo Radley doesn't ever leave his house. They are so wrapped up in their preconceived notions about Boo Radley they never think to see things from his point of view. Atticus tries to help Scout understand by saying “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his
While this does have a literal meaning it has more of a metaphorical meaning. In the story Atticus says “its a sin to kill a mockingbird.”(Lee 103) The literal meaning is that mockingbird do not harm anything or anyone and they just make beautiful music. The metaphorical meaning to killing mockingbirds can be connected to Boo Radley. At the beginning of the book Boo is thought to have been mean and scary but by the end of the book we learn of his innocence and non harmful ways. Scout finally learns this by the very end of the story after Boo had saved Jem from Bob Ewell. She references that by sending Boo Radley to jail would be like killing a mockingbird. This is where Scout has now come full circle and can appreciate the lessons she has