Kaitlin Natili Mrs. Schranz Academic English 9, Period 1 20 April 2023 To Kill A Mockingbird Theme Analysis A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means( Sallust Quotes). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch’s response to conflict demonstrates that social justice is brought about through his educated, patient, and ethical mindset. Atticus uses his ideas of moral vs social code in his teachings to his kids. For example, we've seen Scout dealing with a conflict with her teacher. She tells her father to gain his perspective on things. Atticus listens to the situation and finds a way for them to understand each other. He says “You never really understand a person until you consider things …show more content…
For example, when the rabid dog is terrorizing the town, Atticus is allowed to shoot the dog, and ‘with movements so swift they seemed simultaneous Atticus’s hand yanked a ball tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder.’ (126). Atticus’s decision to shoot the dog relates to his earlier message about bluejays and mockingbirds. With this person vs self-conflict, Atticus had to decide what was the right move in this situation. He struggles with his inner morals about no violence but ends up shooting the dog to save everyone. Atticus thinks violence should not be taken into consideration unless innocent people are in danger. That's why even when he had power over a living thing he decided to save everyone in the town. Another time we see Atticus preaching nonviolence is in his altercation with Bob Ewell. The readers see Atticus get attacked in the street and all he simply says is that he is ‘too old’ (291) to fight back, and wiped his face clean of tobacco. Atticus refusing to fight even when he was charged by Bob shows his refusal to violence. Atticus didn’t need to use violence because no one innocent was in harm's way. So violence would go against his morals. Therefore, Atticus’s ideas of nonviolence help to promote social