The Theme Of Morality And Ethics In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'
This essay will explore the themes of morality and ethics and analyse how they are approached in Harper Lee’s iconic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1960). To assist in the evaluation of these two themes the novel needs to be contextualised in a historical timeline, which will extend over a one hundred year period from 1865, the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery to 1960 which is the year “To Kill a Mockingbird” was first published. The year 1960 is also the year that real momentum was gathering for the Civil Rights Movement that was headed by Martin Luther King Jr. The Civil Rights Movement used non-violent protest and civil disobedience to attain their fundamental goal which was full legal equality.
Harper Lee …show more content…
It has been argued by (Shields 2007) that Harper Lee based Scout on herself as a child growing up. The fact that Harper Lee’s father was a lawyer must also be taken into account. That she also grew up in a small southern Alabama town called Monroeville is also a moot point. By the time the novel was coming to fruition Harper Lee was living in New York, and according to Foner (1998) the campaign for Civil Rights was gathering momentum by 1960 the year the book was first published. It was against this historical background that we can explore the twin themes of morality and …show more content…
Atticus’ insistance on truthfulness is what gives his moral authority strenght. This is reflected in his conversation with Uncle Jack who tells Atticus of his difficulty in answering one of Scout’s questions. “Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him for goodness sake. But dont make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles them.” (Lee, 2004 pg 94)
“Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing whats right.”( Isaac Asimov). On the face of it this sentence seems contradictory but its full justification becomes clearer towards the end of the novel when Atticus bows to Sheriff Heck Tates insistance that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife. Atticus acquiesces to Heck Tates demand that its “my decision and my responsibility.” (Lee, 2004 pg
Harper Lee …show more content…
It has been argued by (Shields 2007) that Harper Lee based Scout on herself as a child growing up. The fact that Harper Lee’s father was a lawyer must also be taken into account. That she also grew up in a small southern Alabama town called Monroeville is also a moot point. By the time the novel was coming to fruition Harper Lee was living in New York, and according to Foner (1998) the campaign for Civil Rights was gathering momentum by 1960 the year the book was first published. It was against this historical background that we can explore the twin themes of morality and …show more content…
Atticus’ insistance on truthfulness is what gives his moral authority strenght. This is reflected in his conversation with Uncle Jack who tells Atticus of his difficulty in answering one of Scout’s questions. “Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him for goodness sake. But dont make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles them.” (Lee, 2004 pg 94)
“Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing whats right.”( Isaac Asimov). On the face of it this sentence seems contradictory but its full justification becomes clearer towards the end of the novel when Atticus bows to Sheriff Heck Tates insistance that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife. Atticus acquiesces to Heck Tates demand that its “my decision and my responsibility.” (Lee, 2004 pg