Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird

Throughout the history of mankind there have been significant events where people have had to choose whether to live up to the ‘status quo’ or decide to go against it based upon their own conscience. To maintain a functioning society, there are laws and social norms set in place to maintain a working and effective system. Laws and customs have been designed by people for many different reasons; some may not have been designed in benevolence to their fellow human beings. Because of this, there is an extent to which these laws, regulations and norms should be followed. When determining whether to break a law or norm, someone should consider if it’s moral or immoral. To determine if it’s moral or not one must contemplate if following these laws

There are many instances throughout this book where norms and laws needed to be broken so that the audience would recognize that not all laws and norms are guidelines to live life by. One of the most evident instances within the novel is when Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell in order to protect Atticus’s children. During this scene Heck Tate, the county's sheriff is trying to explain to Atticus that they should not present this case because Boo was only trying to protect the children and considering his past, it would be wrong to bring him into the public eye. He states, “I never heard tell that it’s against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to protect a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did” (Lee 325). He then goes on to say, “Mr. Finch taking the one man that’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight – to me that’s a sin” (Lee 325). This goes to show how Boo breaking the law was done in the best interest of the children and if he didn’t intervene, they would have gotten seriously hurt. The outcome of him leaving his house and breaking the law to help the children posed a potential risk of him being brought into the public eye but he did it anyway. Though many novels show instances of when laws and norms needed to be broken, we have plenty of events within our history where they needed to be

There were many acts during the civil rights movements where people broke laws and norms to prove that they were unjust. One of the most profound instances in our history of civil disobedience being Rosa Parks and the Montgomery boycott movement. Rosa Parks is one of the most famous American activists who was most well known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott. She refused to relinquish her seat on a Mongomery bus to a white person. During this period, it was mandatory that a black person gave up their seat to a white person. Rosa Parks knew that breaking this norm would result in consequences but because of her bravery and good sense of morality she inspired and motivated others to make a stand (or more accurately sit) and fight against unjust laws and norms to fight for equality. She was one of the initiators of the Mongomery boycott movement where countless African Americans refused to take the bus to further push equal rights. Though it did result in Rosa Parks being arrested and many boycotters were threatened and even lost jobs, it resulted in a great change within our nation and was a huge step for civil