How Does Lee Show Morality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Morality is described as a set of principles differentiating between right and wrong or good and evil. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the main protagonists, Scout and Jem, grow up in a fictional southern town called Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. In 1930 World War II began to take its root, America was in the midst of a Great Depression, and racism was still a big problem. Author, Harper Lee, uses the book to show the moralities of people in different situations and walks of life. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows morality through the teachings from Atticus to his children, Boo Radley’s choice to save Scout and Jem, and also shows the opposite in the false conviction of Tom Robinson.

Atticus Finch is a lawyer and father to Scout

Scout notices Boo Radley in the corner of the room after he saves her life and points him out to Atticus and Heck Tate. When Boo is pointed at he is described as, “As I pointed he brought his arms down and pressed the palms of his hands against the wall.” (page 270). He puts his hands against the wall because he was nervous about Scout pointing him out and possibly having to show himself. He was also nervous because he had not been outside of his house for years and coming out to save Scout and Jem’s lives was a moral decision that he had to make. Boo put doing the right thing over his fears which shows his strong morals. Scout walks Boo back to his house after Heck Tate tells Atticus that Boo is innocent and leaves for his home. Scout stands on the Radley’s porch and is flooded with an epiphany from how the house was faced, Boo was able to watch the neighborhood all the time. While on the porch Scout remembers when they found objects in the tree, “He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.” (page 278). Boo gave Scout and Jem things as a way of making friends with them. Boo, a man afraid of social interaction, still tries to make friends and in the process used his good morals to give up some of his possessions to foster in a new relationship with Scout and Jem. Boo Radley shows that he has strong morals

Tom Robinson was a black man that was falsely accused of raping a white woman named, Mayella Ewell. Mayella begins to be questioned by a suspicious Atticus about whether or not Tom Robinson could have hit her in the face and strangled her. Atticus brings up the fact that Tom Robinson’s left arm does not work and Mayella says, “That nigger yonder took advantage of me an‘ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin‘ cowards...” (page 188). Mayella was panicked and her lack of morals bleed through when, with her back against the wall, she still lies to the judge, jury, and entire courtroom and even takes to insulting the jury. Atticus proves to the whole town that there was no way that Tom Robinson could have beaten Mayella. Mayella’s dad, Bob Ewell, begins to become enraged with Atticus and Miss Stephanie tells Scout and Jem, “this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face...” Bob Ewell had made sure that Mayella prosecutes Tom Robinson instead of himself, this lead to the false conviction. Bob Ewell’s lack of morals advanced him to spit on Atticus due to Atticus destroying what credibility he had left. The trial of Tom Robinson, had shown what characters’ real morals are in a time of