The Human Race and Essentialism: An Illusion When people are born, they are not essentially good or evil at heart. People come into the world as objective creatures, and their environment influences what kind of person they grow up to be. People can be compared to a lightly painted canvas, and the environment is the brush that adds color- the good and the bad. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the idea of being good or evil at heart can be observed though the characters such as Scout Finch and Bob Ewell. Their choices reflect what truly lies in their hearts. “People” as a whole are not essentially good or bad, our intellectual capabilities are too complicated to define using such limited terminology. Our environment has
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We don’t naturally have moral compasses, it’s developed when we’re faced with difficult situations. When we pick ways to handle demanding problems, it truly molds our character. None of this is achieved instinctively, despite common belief. The choices we make shine a light on our true selves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters are faced with stressful situations in which they must act according to their morals. One of the main conflicts is the Tom Robinson case. Atticus makes the bold decision to go against most of his community, and defend a black man in court. Even though Atticus is chiefly standing alone, he doesn’t stray away from his beliefs. He puts his foot forward while fighting for Tom, despite the fact that his town is fighting back. When Scout asks why he’s defending a black man, Atticus wisely answers: "The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." (Lee 75). Atticus has a deep commitment to protecting the truth in this trial. He courageously goes against the “usual disease” of racism in Maycomb, and fights the system. He knows that what he is doing is morally right, and he won’t stop at anything to achieve it. This bold decision is a reflection of his real character, not what we assume is in his heart. This even applies to those who aren’t doing the right thing. Bob Ewell is one of the poorer civilians in Maycomb, financially and morally. He does many things in the novel to suggest that he is a bad person, and this is all evident through his actions. Bob accuses an innocent black man of raping his daughter, and discriminates against anyone who is different from him. He sees himself as superior, and acts as so. When he finds out the Atticus is defending Tom in this trial, Bob stops at nothing to hurt him. Bob threatens
We don’t naturally have moral compasses, it’s developed when we’re faced with difficult situations. When we pick ways to handle demanding problems, it truly molds our character. None of this is achieved instinctively, despite common belief. The choices we make shine a light on our true selves. In To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters are faced with stressful situations in which they must act according to their morals. One of the main conflicts is the Tom Robinson case. Atticus makes the bold decision to go against most of his community, and defend a black man in court. Even though Atticus is chiefly standing alone, he doesn’t stray away from his beliefs. He puts his foot forward while fighting for Tom, despite the fact that his town is fighting back. When Scout asks why he’s defending a black man, Atticus wisely answers: "The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." (Lee 75). Atticus has a deep commitment to protecting the truth in this trial. He courageously goes against the “usual disease” of racism in Maycomb, and fights the system. He knows that what he is doing is morally right, and he won’t stop at anything to achieve it. This bold decision is a reflection of his real character, not what we assume is in his heart. This even applies to those who aren’t doing the right thing. Bob Ewell is one of the poorer civilians in Maycomb, financially and morally. He does many things in the novel to suggest that he is a bad person, and this is all evident through his actions. Bob accuses an innocent black man of raping his daughter, and discriminates against anyone who is different from him. He sees himself as superior, and acts as so. When he finds out the Atticus is defending Tom in this trial, Bob stops at nothing to hurt him. Bob threatens