Moral Compass In To Kill A Mockingbird

Have you ever had an experience where you failed in something, but you ultimately learned the most important lesson about others feelings and being empathetic? To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a historical fiction novel that examines a lawyer in the 1950’s Alabama as he tries to defend an African American man accused of harassing a white woman. People’s experiences help them develop their moral compass because through their experiences and mistakes they learn to become empathetic.

Through her experiences and mistakes Scout developed her moral compass. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout is a 9 year old girl who goes through many hardships as a result of her father, Atticus, having to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in a case involving

For example, on page 65 it’s written “Jem stayed moody and silent for days. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him.” This shows how Scout develops her moral compass because she is putting herself in Jem’s shoes. After being to the Radley Place with Jem and Dill, Scout was frightened by the experience and so she understood how it must feel to go back to that place alone and so she left him alone. From this we can see that Scout learned from her experiences and mistakes, which in this case was going to the Radley Place without permission, and developed a sense of empathy. Similarly, on page 321 Scout says “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” This exhibits how Scout developed her moral compass through past experience because Scout puts herself in Boo Radley’s shoes and thinks about the past. She has flashbacks of Jem, Dill, and herself throughout the year and their

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem is a 13 year old boy who, as he grows older, faces a rough childhood of being criticized by others because of his father, Atticus, defending a black person, Tom Robinson. For instance, on page 273 it’s written “Jem was scowling. It was probably a part of the stage he was going through, and I wished he would hurry up and get through it. He was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world./ “Why couldn’t I mash him?” I asked./ “Because they don’t bother you,” Jem answered in the darkness.” This displays how Jem developed his moral compass through his experiences because Jem mentally grew from his experiences. From his experiences, Jem learned that the world isn’t always nice but it is rather cruel and because of this he grew to become empathetic, knowing how it felt to be put down by others. Furthermore, on page 259 it’s written “That’s what I thought, too,” he said at last, “when I was your age. If there’s one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.” This reveals how Jem developed his moral compass through his mistakes and experiences because Jem thinks about his experiences and his failures that he