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Examples Of Integrity In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Creative Title Many people believe integrity is one of the most important traits to have. Nowhere is this concept more prevalent than in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the town of Maycomb, racism and prejudice are so deeply ingrained in society, they impact every aspect of daily life, including the justice system and one’s right to a fair and equal trial. Despite this fact, Atticus Finch is wise to accept Tom Robinson’s case due to the benefits to both his children and his community. By choosing to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus is choosing to teach his children morals and the value of standing up for what they believe in, rather than letting them fall victim to the racist hivemind of Maycomb. When Scout asks why Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, he replies “I could never ask you to mind me again” (Lee 100). By saying this, he is telling her that he could never in good conscience have the children listen to or respect him again if he did not …show more content…

According to them, his choice to represent Tom causes unnecessary hardship for Jem and Scout, such as the harassment they face in school and from their cousin Francis. However, when Scout comes home from school following one of these confrontations, he advises her to fight with her head, not her fists, and not to let the other children get her down. The very next day, when she backs down from a fight, she says “I can take being called a coward for him. I felt extremely noble for having remembered” (Lee 102). This quote shows that Scout is not, in fact, deeply hurt by her father’s choices and is actually proud of him. While she does love a good fight, Scout cares more deeply about her father and pleasing him than whatever taunting she may face. Additionally, Atticus is teaching his children morals and values by taking this case, as shown above, the benefits of which greatly outweigh any negatives from taking the

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In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout that courage is “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Atticus has shown a lot of courage to his kids. Atticus showed courage by accepting the Tom Robinson case, by standing his ground at the jailhouse, and by standing up to Aunt Alexandra about Calpurnia. He even tries to get his kids to follow in his footsteps.     What Atticus meant when he told Scout what courage was, was that even if you know that you're going to lose something it doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

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Scout is a tomboy and she usually solves her problems with her fists. Atticus is one of the only people that accept Scout for who she is. The rest of her family is constantly trying to make her act more like a lady and this is enforced greatly when her

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Aside from learning about her fellow citizens of Maycomb, Scout also had to start to protect herself, and her father from their neighbors and classmates. The atmosphere of discrimination towards the black defendant, and hatred towards their father, caused many uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous situations for the Finch Family. When Scout is confronted by her uncle Jack about a fight between Herself and her classmate, Scout responds “-tell you one thing right now, Uncle Jack, I’ll be-- I swear before God if I’ll sit there and let him say something about Atticus.” (114) This quote explains how she had to protect her father, and she could not just stand around and let him say malicious things about Atticus. Those actions were very brave of Scout, but she did not stop there.

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Scout believes teachers should teach students at their level, even if it is more advanced then the teacher assumed a student would be. Also, Scout believes she should be free to learn at a faster pace and not be held back. Scout is confronted by Cecil Jacobs, who insults Atticus, at her school. Scout is confused by his actions, but rises to defend Atticus anyway. Scout yells at Cecil, “You can just take that back, boy!”(99) when Cecil slanders Atticus for his part in the Tom Robinson case.

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A person cannot call themselves a noble person if they can’t understand others. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is told in first person by Jean Louise Finch or by her nickname, Scout a 6-year-old. Harper Lee, depicts Atticus Finch as a proficient father to his two children, Scout and Jim, 10-year-old. Atticus teaches his children life lessons, one being it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

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Scout looks up to Jem, greatly values his opinion on many different topics and trusts him completely. She follows his lead on may things such as when Atticus enquire about the nature of a game they are playing which depicts Boo Radley , “ Jems evasion told me our game was a secret so I kept quiet.” (Page 45) Jem in turn enjoys spending time with her and adores her.

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The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This saying is true in many cases and happens to be true in To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the book you see children of characters start to grow up and act like their father. This essay will be looking at three families in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finches, the Cunninghams, and the Ewells. These three families are key examples that a father’s influence has a significant influence on the character of his children.

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Personal values and morals are instilled into children by their parents . Jem and Scout Finch, characters from Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, are open minded, educated, young children that have a father named Atticus Finch who tries to teach his children to have sound morals and personal values . The children have not been sheltered from life's hardships due to their father Atticus's views on parenting instead they have learned right from wrong. Atticus Finch believes that not sheltering his kids from the world allows them to form strong morals and values. Atticus Finch does what he believes will help make his children into strong citizens with outstanding values and morals.

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Scout does not believe her father would say this and cries. She does not want to remember it and she does not want to act the way her aunt wants her to. Atticus then realizes that this is not who he is and says, “Forget it”(179). This shows that no matter what anyone says, Atticus will let Scout be who she wants to be. Another time is when Scout first starts to go to school, her teacher notices that Scout already knows how to read.

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The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” If he didn’t take the case, Atticus tells Scout, “I could never ask you to mind me again.” We don 't know exactly how and why, but he managed to earn respect of people around him. It is very important for kids to know their dad is respected. Whatever he was, he managed to earn deep respect and love of his children as well.

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As the book goes on and the characters change, ethical dilemmas about fear, and racism are seen. Additionally, what the book has to say about moral values and how things are done is mentioned in this essay. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee depicts the crude reality of Ethical Dilemmas in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1950s. One of the first Ethical Dilemmas presented in the book is what are the morals of the people in Maycomb. It is clear that Maycomb has differences in how people act, but that is different on what their moral values are.

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Atticus tells Scout to keep her head up and avoid any fights when anyone is saying something bad about Atticus. Keeping this in mind, when Cecil Jacobs is intimidating Scout by calling her Atticus a nigger-lover. She refused to fight thinking “Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked Jem and me to do something for him, I could take being called a coward for him. I felt extremely noble for having remembered, and remained noble for three weeks” (77).

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In the quote it demonstrates how Atticus has to simply explain to the Scout, you should never look at someone differently based on how much money they have. You should look at them for who they are. Some people are not as fortunate as others, it is not there fault, but like they Cunningham 's, they find a way. Atticus did not only open the kids eyes to how you should not judge someone, but also, to stand up for what you believe in, despite what others might say. When Atticus is presented with the Tom Robinson case, without much thought, he says yes to being his lawyer.

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One lesson in the book that I feel Jem learns as a part of growing up is moral courage. Atticus once told Jem that “courage is [not] a man with a gun in his hand. It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Jem had always seen bravery as important and often tried to show the courage in him but only learnt about what moral courage really was through a series events that took place in the book.

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In spite of Scout’s inability to fully comprehend the significance of what Atticus is doing for Tom, she readies herself to defend Atticus, which ultimately portrays that she does not regard society’s expectations on how she should

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