Is pride a vice or virtue?
To Kill A Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald both are examples of how pride can be shown as a virtue and how pride can be shown as a vice. For the purpose of this essay, To Kill a Mocking Bird will be the representation of how pride is a virtue. The Great Gatsby will be the representation of how pride is a vice. In order to understand how vice and virtue are element of pride, definitions must be explored. Vice, meaning an immoral or wicked behavior. Virtue, behavior showing high moral standards. Understanding these definition will provide better understand of how in certain cases they become apart of Pride, a feeling of deep pleasure of satisfaction, from ones own achievements. These two books both have perfect representations of how pride can be interpreted. It is my opinion that pride is both a vice and virtue, it depends on the situation and character, which defines if it is a vice or a virtue.
In the book To Kill A Mocking Bird, there are many examples of pride as a virtue, for example the character of Atticus Finch. Atticus is a lawyer, he and his daughter Jean Louis Finch; live in the United States, more specifically the south. It was during the time period of 1930’s to 1940’s. The current case that Atticus was working on was a case involving a black man who had been put on trail for rape. Atticus’s job was to defend him.
At this time period defending a black man, was not something an average lawyer should have done. But Atticus, stood for justice and had pride in himself and his job of standing by the law, to fight for what is right. He would. Often have to explain to his daughter why he was fighting for a black man, and Atticus would also say, that if he did not defend Tom Robinson, he would be unable to tell them what to do anymore because they would not be able to