Essay On Civility In To Kill A Mockingbird

The act of civility is demonstrated by Judge Paul Heath Till in the essay Morals, Manners, Customs, and Public Perception in regards to Southern culture. Civility is defined as the formal courtesy shown through one's behavior towards others. Every culture portrays this act through their morals, manners, and customs. These three characteristics allow people to socialize with constricted confrontation, However, Till believes that this isn't shown through what was the public perception of the South. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is just one example of Till’s belief. The novel shows an increase in confrontational and aggressive conduct in specific chapters. Judge Paul Heath Till's explanation of Southern civility is reflected in Harper Lee’s

Similarly to Till’s essay, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Alabama, past tense. Having grown up in Alabama himself, Judge Paul Heath Till states “While there was rude and discourteous conduct in the South of my youth, all such acts were looked down on with outwardly shown disapproval.” (Till 2). Since he received instruction, Till learned the conduct in which he believes was the proper form of morals. This is reflected in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird by the everyday lives of the civilians of Maycomb. When Walter Cunningham starts Scout “off on the wrong foot”, she acknowledges it in a way in which she believes is correct. In response to Walter Cunningham, Scout states “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop.” (Lee 22). Shown through this quote, Scout’s used her morals by rubbing Walter’s nose in the dirt as a way to handle her problems. Jem quickly disapproves of this act and later on, so does her father, Atticus. Furthermore, proving that Judge Paul Heath Till's explanation of Southern civility is reflected in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by rude, thoughtless and selfish conduct in