On July 11, 1960 Harper Lee published her first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To date over 40 million copies of this chart topper have been sold to the public. The story is told from a child’s point of view and how she survives the challenges of racism and growing up. To Kill a Mockingbird also illustrates that challenging the opinions of others can aid in one’s moral improvement; Jem Finch experiences the most developmental progress through expanding his moral ideas and beliefs. Coming from a strong moral figure like Atticus, Jem is expected to become a respectable young adult.
The Ancient Greeks were affected in many ways by the things around and in the country called Greece. The geography of the land has had a great influence on Greece and the inhabitants. Throughout the history of Greece, there came more effects to the people who lived there. Some of these effects on the Ancient Greek civilization were positive and some were negative. Most of these effects were beneficial to the Greeks.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the most significant themes is unjust decisions are made due to race and social class. For example, a group of men showed up in dusty cars at the Maycomb County jail, where Atticus was late at night. Outside the jail, “in ones and twos, men got out of the cars. Shadows became substance as lights revealed solid shapes moving toward the jail door” (Lee 80). One man asked “he's in there, Mr. Finch?” referring to Tom Robinson (Lee 80).
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the readers are introduced to Maycomb, a small town in Alabama. Throughout the book the main characters observe society, whilst realizing that the seemingly perfect social norms in the town are acts of prejudice. After viewing the effects these actions have on one another, the children begin to reevaluate their morals by becoming more open minded. When blindly following societal norms, the citizens are unable to realize society’s strong need to visualize themselves from the perspective of others. This renders them unable to understand if their morals are socially acceptable and come to terms with how they affect others.
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.
Integrity is defined as the quality of having, living by, keeping, and defending one’s firm moral principles in all circumstances. Men throughout history have exhibited this trait. Martin Luther King, Jr., portrayed this quality when he led the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Integrity was also ubiquitous throughout the Bible. Joseph, a Biblical character, displayed this quality throughout his life of slavery in Egypt.
What have you learnt about the concept of integrity from your study of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and one related text of your own choosing? Integrity means to be whole and undivided and to be honest and uphold your moral principles in what you do and say. The book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and the events of Tiananmen square show us this. In particular, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ helps us see the positive effects of a person’s integrity on society as well as the negative impacts of a person’s lack of integrity on the people around them.
“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself” – Wayne Dyer Judging others is a natural human trait that everyone has. Everyone tries their hardest to not make assumptions about others but everyone does make assumptions about others. Sometimes despite their best efforts people will find themselves exploring feelings of negativity towards someone else or even making judgements about them. This relates to my prompt because you shouldn’t judge someone because you may misinterpret them for who they really are. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of racism proves that you shouldn’t judge someone because you may misinterpret them for who they really are.
The pursuit of personal freedom is often hindered by societal expectations regarding their race, social class or gender as well as other factors. Societal expectations is an internalized social norm for individuals and for society as a whole, about what people should do and what they should not do. This can influence an individual and prevent them for pursuing personal freedom. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee showcases how an individual’s pursuit of personal freedom is driven by their current state of life, as well as the beliefs and values they hold to themselves and how sometimes society can prevent them from pursuing personal freedom. Through Mayella Ewell’s actions, Lee reinforces the idea that often society, and their expectations placed on lower classes can stop you from your pursuit of personal freedom, and trying to rise above the expectations of society.
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.
Atticus lives by a code: let your conscience be your guide. That’s why he takes on the case at the heart of the story, the defense of a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Scout tells Atticus that most people in the town think it’s wrong to defend the accused man. But Atticus explains that “they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions. But before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.
Humans live in a world where moral values are very clearly set determining what is good and what is bad. We know what scares us and how racism should be treated. Nevertheless, this was not the case back in Alabama during the 1950s. In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee narrates the lives of the people of Maycomb, Alabama, focusing on the story of Scout and Jem Finch, and the case of a said to be rape. In this emotion filled narrative, readers learn how life was back then not only in general, but for the separate social statuses that there was.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, some people do not recognize that someone wants to help them. The people mentioned had been given or received kindness from someone but they do not know that they are trying to help. The types of kindness that will be shown is kindness within the Finch family, kindness shown through neighbours, and kindness of acquaintances. It is shown that kindness is taken for granted.
It is easy to notice, how people can be swayed when they are alone in their decision. It’s hard to be alone when, in something when people don’t have the same view on it. It’s like bullying, a person can’t do anything about it, but there is some people, like Atticus, who can be strong despite all the pressure to change what a person thinks and how they feel. There should be more people like Atticus who can make decisions knowing what is truly right and wrong, and not be swayed by
Harper Lee once wrote that “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what”. Moral courage means doing the right thing despite the risk of any consequences. Anyone can have moral courage, no matter who you are. Many authors often use different literary elements to develop themes in their writings. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the literary elements mood and imagery to teach her audience about doing the right thing or moral courage.
