Imagine you go to the movies with your best friend and you come across the “cool kids” from your school. They came up to you and asked you to ditch your friend and sit with them, and say you can sit at their lunch table for the rest of the quarter. What would you do? Your answer depends on your stage of moral development. Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg developed a well known, moral development model in the 1950s, which uses different levels and stages to describe what stage you’re at in moral development, which “focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from infancy through adulthood. In the field of moral development, morality is defined as principles for how individuals ought to treat one another, with respect to justice,
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Maycomb County, a small, fictional, Southern town shares multiple qualities and assets to other Southern towns in the 1920s and 1930s. Maycomb is a very racist, prejudice, and segregated community. In the novel, Atticus Finch has a great sense of morality, in a town filled with disrespectful and hateful people. In Maycomb, there is a very intense court case between Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape and abuse to Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Scout and Jem, Atticus’s children, are faced with prejudice comments and arguments as the case slowly approaches. Although Scout and Jem wanted to fight back, Atticus always taught them the Golden Rule, which is to treat others the way you want to be treated. During the court session, Atticus uses superior arguments and defends Tom in every way possible, yet, due to the jury’s prejudice beliefs, Tom, the mockingbird was proven guilty, convicted, and executed. Jem and Scout realize after the court case, just how racist and immoral the town of Maycomb …show more content…
In the novel, during the court session of Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson, Atticus is very polite to Mayella while speaking to her. Mayella finds his speaking to her disrespectful and absurd just by the terms he used to ask her questions. The book states, “So you did, so you did ma’am. You have to bear with me Miss Mayella”…. ‘Won’t answer a word you say as long as you keep on mockin’ me,’ she said”. “‘Ma’am?’ asked Atticus, startled”. “‘Long’s you keep makin’ fun o me”(Lee, 243). Atticus is shocked that Mayella finds his speaking towards her as mockery. Atticus is placed at a level 3: stage 5 because he is using the phrases “Miss” and “Ma’am” when speaking to Mayella because he believes that everyone should be treated equal, and be addressed with the same name, unlike Mr. Gilmer. He is polite to other citizens around him, but addresses Tom as “boy”, for two reasons. One, it is lowering Toms status as a human being. Two, when someone calls someone by the name of “boy”, it is representing that, that person has more power over the other. As Atticus listens to Mayella speak, Judge Taylor steps in, “Mr. Finch is not making fun of you. What's the matter with you? Mayella looked from under lowered eyelids at Atticus, but she said to the judge: ‘long's he keep on callin’ me ma’am an sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don't hafta take this sass, I ain’t called upon to take it”’ (Lee, 243). This quote implies the fact that even
Maycomb County, a small, fictional, Southern town shares multiple qualities and assets to other Southern towns in the 1920s and 1930s. Maycomb is a very racist, prejudice, and segregated community. In the novel, Atticus Finch has a great sense of morality, in a town filled with disrespectful and hateful people. In Maycomb, there is a very intense court case between Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape and abuse to Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Scout and Jem, Atticus’s children, are faced with prejudice comments and arguments as the case slowly approaches. Although Scout and Jem wanted to fight back, Atticus always taught them the Golden Rule, which is to treat others the way you want to be treated. During the court session, Atticus uses superior arguments and defends Tom in every way possible, yet, due to the jury’s prejudice beliefs, Tom, the mockingbird was proven guilty, convicted, and executed. Jem and Scout realize after the court case, just how racist and immoral the town of Maycomb …show more content…
In the novel, during the court session of Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson, Atticus is very polite to Mayella while speaking to her. Mayella finds his speaking to her disrespectful and absurd just by the terms he used to ask her questions. The book states, “So you did, so you did ma’am. You have to bear with me Miss Mayella”…. ‘Won’t answer a word you say as long as you keep on mockin’ me,’ she said”. “‘Ma’am?’ asked Atticus, startled”. “‘Long’s you keep makin’ fun o me”(Lee, 243). Atticus is shocked that Mayella finds his speaking towards her as mockery. Atticus is placed at a level 3: stage 5 because he is using the phrases “Miss” and “Ma’am” when speaking to Mayella because he believes that everyone should be treated equal, and be addressed with the same name, unlike Mr. Gilmer. He is polite to other citizens around him, but addresses Tom as “boy”, for two reasons. One, it is lowering Toms status as a human being. Two, when someone calls someone by the name of “boy”, it is representing that, that person has more power over the other. As Atticus listens to Mayella speak, Judge Taylor steps in, “Mr. Finch is not making fun of you. What's the matter with you? Mayella looked from under lowered eyelids at Atticus, but she said to the judge: ‘long's he keep on callin’ me ma’am an sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don't hafta take this sass, I ain’t called upon to take it”’ (Lee, 243). This quote implies the fact that even