Moral Values In To Kill A Mockingbird

Passing Down the Morals of Maycomb
There are no two people on Earth that have the exact same morals and values. Some may think that family is most important, while others may think that friendship and passion are most important; this is seen incredibly often in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is good to have morals and values, and it is even better to pass them down and teach them to younger generations. Values bring out a sense of uniqueness in people, and even a touch of who they are as a person. The people of Maycomb all have very different values. Some people may have values that are alike or the same, but there is always a family that will have different morals than the rest of the town. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, the values

Although the morals of the people in the town of Maycomb may be different than those of most people today, there are still many important values and lessons observed in them. It is seen that as Scout and Jem grow older and mature, their father Atticus is constantly trying to instill good values and morals upon them throughout To Kill A Mockingbird.
As seen throughout Scout and Jem’s childhood, Atticus Finch strongly values kindness and treating people kindly, even if he does not know them. This is shown many times through Atticus’ court case defending a black man; both Atticus and his kids look at things in a new light after the case. One day Scout is talking to Atticus about his case and their conversation goes as follows: “‘Do you defend ni*gers, Atticus?’ I asked him that evening. ‘Of course I do. Don’t say ni*ger, Scout. That’s common’” (Lee 75). What Atticus means by ‘common’ is that what Scout is saying is low class, vulgar, and degrading, according to enotes.com (Craw Expert Answers). He is saying that by talking as

These are things that he applies to both his home life and work like, and that he puts above all else. He also tries to teach these to Jem and Scout, and pass these values down to them so that they are well mannered and mature about any situation that they are faced with. He teaches them kindness by telling them about how to approach people in certain situations, and how to talk to or about people without being rude. He teaches them both proper body language and the proper way of speaking so that you are being kind to whomever you are talking to. He also teaches them about respect; he says to always respect people, even if they do not respect you, and how to show respect to elders and high authorities. Lastly, Atticus teaches Scout and Jem about justice. Atticus, through his actions, teaches them that justice might not always be fair, but it is always right. For these reasons it is clear to see that Atticus tries to teach Scout and Jem proper morals and values throughout their childhood.

Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Chelsea House Publishers, 1999.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “To Kill a Mockingbird Morality and Ethics Quotes Page 1.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/morality-ethics-quotes.html.
“To Kill a Mockingbird Summary.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/topics/to-kill-a-mockingbird?en_action=study_guide_click&en_label=hh-sidebar&en_category=internal_campaign.