Atticus Finch Moral

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, heroes develop as they spread their moral ideals to young people. Atticus Finch, father of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, provides moral insight to Scout about ideals such as education and sticking by your beliefs. Calpurnia, the Finch’s family cook and housekeeper, teaches Scout about manners and treatment of others. Atticus and Calpurnia acted as heroes as they continued to provide Scout with a sound moral education.
On the topic of traditional education, Scout did not believe that is was necessary and she wished to not go, like the Ewells did. Atticus explains that explained that they lived by different expectations than the Ewells and that they “must obey the law” (Lee 40). This lesson goes beyond Scout’s opinion of education but it also teaches her about the separation of social classes. This conversation with Atticus shows that some people, because of their social/financial situations, it can make them act differently and follow different morals. It shows Scout that she must have a high moral attitude to withhold the expectations of her family.

He contributes this to her moral education by having a conversation about Scouts experiences. Scout brings up that someone at school told her that her father was a “n***** lover” (). Although the exact saying was a derogatory and hurtful term, Atticus admitted he “certainly [is]. [He] do[es] [his] best to love everybody,” (144). He explained to Scout that even though others were being critical and rude about his decision, he sticks by it. This is important to the development of Scout considering it allows her to develop her own opinions of race, social class, etc. without the influence of