Human nature and the expression of morals
Human Nature and the Expression of Morals
A sense of what is morally right and wrong is a fundamental aspect of human nature. It is considered morally wrong to kill living things and morally right to help someone in need. Throughout William Golding’s Lord of The Flies and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, there are several instances where standards of human morality fluctuate. In both novels, such examples convey the authors’ views of what is morally acceptable and what is not. This paper will address how select characters such as Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Ralph, Jack Merridew and Simon deal with their moral dilemmas. The moral philosophical thought process will be used as well as certain terminologies such as Utilitarianism, a moral theory based on the principle of actions to promote happiness, and Kantianism, a theory stipulating that the act is more important than the consequential outcome.
Firstly, the characters of Atticus Finch and Ralph are similar in many ways as they both portray Kantianism. Atticus is usually morally correct in his assessments of situations. In many instances, he decides to do the right thing instead of following the status quo. For example, despite the disapproval of the Maycomb community, Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, an African American convicted of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell, a Caucasian woman. Atticus defends Tom because he views it as the morally correct thing to do. When asked why he is defending Tom, Atticus says “For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee 75). This quote portrays Atticus’ true nature and his pure morals. Atticus simply knows that defending Tom is the right thing to do and doing so gives him a sense of satisfaction. This quote is a great example of Kantianism. Atticus understands the implications of defending an
A sense of what is morally right and wrong is a fundamental aspect of human nature. It is considered morally wrong to kill living things and morally right to help someone in need. Throughout William Golding’s Lord of The Flies and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, there are several instances where standards of human morality fluctuate. In both novels, such examples convey the authors’ views of what is morally acceptable and what is not. This paper will address how select characters such as Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Ralph, Jack Merridew and Simon deal with their moral dilemmas. The moral philosophical thought process will be used as well as certain terminologies such as Utilitarianism, a moral theory based on the principle of actions to promote happiness, and Kantianism, a theory stipulating that the act is more important than the consequential outcome.
Firstly, the characters of Atticus Finch and Ralph are similar in many ways as they both portray Kantianism. Atticus is usually morally correct in his assessments of situations. In many instances, he decides to do the right thing instead of following the status quo. For example, despite the disapproval of the Maycomb community, Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, an African American convicted of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell, a Caucasian woman. Atticus defends Tom because he views it as the morally correct thing to do. When asked why he is defending Tom, Atticus says “For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee 75). This quote portrays Atticus’ true nature and his pure morals. Atticus simply knows that defending Tom is the right thing to do and doing so gives him a sense of satisfaction. This quote is a great example of Kantianism. Atticus understands the implications of defending an