Moral Conscience In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the 1930s, Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India’s independence movement, declared, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” ("Mahatma Gandhi Quotes"). He indicates that if something is not morally right, anyone can change it. One small change can influence an entire population, and sometimes, that one change is all that is needed to make the world a better place. Harper Lee expresses this idea through her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. She shows how a single person can take a stand for something they know is right, even if it goes against the majority’s morals. Other historical events, such as Emmett Till’s murder in 1955, support this idea that a single individual with good morals can bring about a long-awaited change. Even in the present day, people are making significant changes which improve the lives of others. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a few individuals pursue a change in society through defying the majority population’s morals, while the community of Money, Mississippi in the 1950s, as well as modern teens, fight to make a change for what they are certain is unethical. Both Harper Lee and these modern-day revolutionaries show how a single person’s moral conscience can act as a catalyst for change.
While the prospect of change may seem inevitable, it takes a moral conscience to …show more content…
Morality is standing up for what you believe in, even if it goes against the majority’s morals. It is being the one person who takes all the courage he or she can muster and finds the difference between right and wrong in a segregated world. As Gandhi’s famed quote states, anyone can act as a catalyst for change. Morality takes courage, dedication, and a whole lot of backlash from the opposition. Nonetheless, once morality is obtained, a revolution can occur; both in the minds of the people and in their