ipl-logo

Examples Of Moral Dilemmas In To Kill A Mockingbird

1220 Words5 Pages

+5 The Moral Dilemmas in To Kill A Mockingbird
By Emerson Lee

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, ignorance and stupidity in characters and in society causes racism, gender norms, and issues with economic status. There are many moral problems posed to the citizens of Maycomb, but how they respond to them differs greatly. Among these are race, gender, and class.
One of the most prominent moral dilemmas in her novel is race. Throughout the book, racism causes countless moral dilemmas for many of the characters including Scout Finch and the ordinary people on Tom Robinson’s jury. For example, earlier in the novel Scout has made a promise to control her temper the best she can; but when she is in the schoolyard, …show more content…

“‘You gonna take that back, boy?’...‘My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that ‘negro’ oughta hang from the water-tank!’” (Lee 87)Since the racism is extremely common amongst not only the adults in town but also the Maycomb children, Scout almost reneged on her promise to keep her head high and fists down. If Scout chose to fight Cecil, she would disappoint Atticus, but more importantly herself. After Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted of rape and assault by the jury, Jem is furious and doesn’t understand why they even have juries. He even goes on to say that we oughta “do away with juries.” Jem says, “‘He wasn’t guilty in the first place…’” And Atticus responds with, “‘If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man…Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury…In our …show more content…

During Aunt Alexandra’s ‘campaign’ to teach Scout how to be a lady, she had her stay with her neighbors during their social talk. All of them started asking Scout questions about what she wanted to be when she grew up. At first, Miss Stephanie asks Scout if she wants to be a lawyer since she has already gone to court, but Scout is pressured into saying she wants to be a lady. Lee writes, “Miss Stephanie eyed me suspiciously, decided that I meant no impertinence, and contented herself with, ‘Well, you won’t get very far until you start wearing a dress more often.’” (Lee 263) The problem about society during that time was that these women are probably right. If Scout does not conform to typical feminine ideals and practices, such as wearing a dress, she is likely to be treated as an outcast to society. At the trial for Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell’s father, has just finished being questioned, and Mayella Ewell is called upon to recall what happened the night of when Tom supposedly raped and attacked her. Judge Taylor questions, “‘Who is ‘he?’ Mayella pointed to Tom Robinson. ‘I'll have to ask you to be more specific, please,’ said Mr. Gilmer…’That’n yonder,’ she said. “Robinson.” (Lee 205) In this scene, Mayella Ewell has two choices. One,

Show More
Related
912 Words | 4 Pages

This is proven when we hear the ladies of Maycomb discussing Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson’s

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

Scout, Jem and Dill wanted to attend Mr. Robinson’s trial, and they expected for the truth to come out, and they thought the real culprit of beating up Mayella would come out. Although, this experience shattered Scout’s idealistic worldview. Even though Atticus presented enough evidence that proves Tom’s innocence, the racist all-white jury still convicted Tom Robinson. Scout, and Jem, witnessed the injustice of the trial and experienced the harshness of reality. Furthermore, Scout’s aunt Alexandra’s words after the verdict deepened Scout’s disillusionment: “I told you that you should have come to me when Walter got into trouble,”.

Read More
674 Words | 3 Pages

Jem also opposes the town’s racism. He instead sees the incorrectness of the town in a logical standpoint. During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus brings up solid evidence that the attack was not from Tom, but her father Bob Ewell. Jem believes that there is no way that Tom would be declared guilty, he still believes that the town is not racist and thinks that the jury people will think logically about the case. “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them.”

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

Knowing this, Jem concludes that the Maycomb County justice system needs unbiased people to join the jury. Here, Atticus is telling Jem that if he were on the jury, the outcome would have been different, “‘If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man. ’”(294) This shows that even Atticus, a lawyer, agrees with Jem that the justice system is wrong. With Atticus agreeing with him it shows that Jem is saying intelligent things and that he is not saying things that are random and

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

Even though Tom Robinson was innocent, Bob Ewell, who was white, still won the case. This hit the Finch’s hard because even though they hated the racial discrimination occurring, there was nothing more that Atticus could do to change the ways of Maycomb. While all of this was going on, Scout’s perspective shifted more to her father's beliefs instead of joining the mainstream cowardness of her

Read More
359 Words | 2 Pages

By the end of the novel during the court scene and Tom’s death, we see the final stages of her development and how far she has come as she can 't stand for Tom’s discrimination which only further proves her power to rebel against something that everyone conforms to. This shows her make her own opinion about racism which creates the exciting environment that we find ourselves in while reading. The novel has many important points and moments which make a lasting impression on us even after reading the novel. One of the biggest ideas which are focused on in this essay is Scout 's development and how it allows her to forge her own opinions. Scout learns to separate herself from the conforming sheep that Maycomb residents are described to be.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay Introduction To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM) written by Harper Lee is a novel that reflects the notions of conscience, courage, and conviction through the eyes of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch. The novel takes you on an investigation with this little girl, Scout as she matures and grows by lessons taught to her by her wise father, Atticus Finch. Scout is living throughout the Great Depression in her small town Maycomb Country and experiences prejudice and racism through the events which span across the novel. Scout matures into a genuine and respectful girl and learns many important lessons from her father which teach her how to see the good in people and to never judge a person based on the colour of their skin or their

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

After hours of waiting, the jury came back in. Scout explains how “A jury never looks at the defendant if it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson… Judge Taylor was polling the jury; ‘ Guilty...Guilty...Guilty’”(211) When Scout and Jem hear the verdict, they are distraught. As they were walking home, “It was Jem’s turn to cry.. ‘It’s not right, Atticus’”(212)

Read More
1517 Words | 7 Pages

While Scout is reading Mr. Underwood's editorial she finally understands that, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (275-276). Prejudice is very difficult to overcome, and what Scout realizes is that there is nothing that her father, a very talented lawyer, can do to help a black man who is suspected of a crime. The mere fact that society was prejudiced against black men to begin with, is the verdict. Tom was guilty not because he committed a crime; Tom’s crime was that he was black.

Read More
1399 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
1171 Words | 5 Pages

Mr. Gilmer, the district attorney for Mayella Ewell, belittles Tom Robinson while he is cross-examining him. The district attorney constantly called Tom "...boy." (pg. 198) when he is a twenty-five-year-old man. Mr. Gilmer is making Tom feel unimportant because he is African-American and considered lower than the Ewells. Similarly, Rufus Buckley, the prosecutor in Carl Lees trial, was persecuting him and called him a name during the trial.

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

There are lots moral issues within society with things like racism and prejudice. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about a young girl, Scout (ages 6-9 throughout the book), who grows up in the town of Maycomb, a town the author made up it’s a small town in Alabama during the Great Depression, with her only sibling Jem and widow father Atticus. In the book Scout tells the audience her story from many years ago. Her stories of prejudice.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.

Read More
912 Words | 4 Pages

By criticizing her “girliness” he was essentially telling her she was incapable of participating, and Scout was even more fired up to prove the boys wrong. Scout attempted to break this mold by “fitting in” right along the boys, and having fun. The story line elucidates how women were treated as second class citizens, during this period of time. In conclusion, the book depicts race and ethnicity as enormous issues that impact our society.

Read More
1693 Words | 7 Pages

In the proceeding, Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of taking advantage and abusing her, when she supposedly asked him into her yard to do some work for her. Tom Robinson explains how she was “mistaken in her mind” (Lee 264) and that he did not harm her in any way, when cross-examined by the prosecutor, Mr. Gilmer. As the jury, composed of people from far out-of-town, took long hours to come to a decision after the examinations have been completed, they returned to the courtroom and attained to a peculiar code all juries attain to, according to Scout, when they convict the

Read More

More about Examples Of Moral Dilemmas In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document