Moral Development In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Great Essays
“A life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood” These words of Thomas Carlyle impeccably describes scout as she is living in order to understand the life in Maycomb. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author explores the concept of moral development of Scout for a little innocent girl growing up into an intelligent adulthood, Jean Louise. As she struggles through her life with the people around her. She starts to mature and realize the truth behind Maycomb as she faces discrimination, comprehends Atticus’s wisdom, and the effect and inspiration of Boo Radley on her life.
To begin with, Scout sees discrimination in contradiction of race, specifically black race the town Maycomb has against. In the
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This passage explains the lecture Atticus is giving scout referring to the discrimination white people have against black people. Atticus is also showing the repulsion with white people taking advantage of a black man’s ignorance, in this case, Tom Robinson. Likewise, Scout starts to have a different point of view of her surroundings. Furthermore, scout starts learning about the hypocrisy of her teacher Miss Gates. Miss Gates condemns Hitler’s persecution of the Jews and discriminating against black people. “ over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from the people who are prejudiced. Prejudice,”(329). This passage notifies scout how her teacher is showing her own hypocrisy. As Miss Gates is teaching her class Scout is starting to see the hate she has towards Hitler and the way he is treating the Jews. In addition, Scout is becoming aware of the fact her teacher is full of discrimination and hatefulness not only to the Jews but to the black race too. As well as, Scout is realizing the fact that Miss Gates is …show more content…
Scout is gaining moral courage from Atticus as he is teaching her valuable lessons about the community around her. “Atticus was right one time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley’s porch was enough”(379). In this passage, Scout is learning the meaning of Atticus’s advice towards her. Scout then is figuring the fact that judging upon the first impression is hardly ever accurate. Likewise, Atticus is instructing Scout to consider understanding a person’s actions before speaking or taking action. Besides, Atticus has a huge impact on Scout and her life as he is always trying to be a good role model for both scout and Jem. Scout is also apprehending that her father is truly the peacekeeper of Maycomb. “ It was time like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived”(134). Here Scout is receiving courage and integrity from her father Atticus as he is a brave man in her eyes. Also, he is the man everyone trust and depends on in tough situations. Furthermore, he is teaching Scout generosity and helping her develop into a better person. Therefore, Scout is growing up and maturing with the help of Atticus’s wisdom as he teach her the valuable lessons to help

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