Atticus Finch Morals In To Kill A Mockingbird

There are men in this world who never stray from what they believe is right. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch is one of those men. He stands by his beliefs, be they accepted by society or not, and passes these firm beliefs on to his children, even though they may be hard for them to live by. Atticus Finch is a man of unshakable morals.

To begin, Atticus stands by his beliefs even when they are not accepted by society. His pride in himself relies on whether he does what is right, not what is acceptable. When Scout asks Atticus why he took on the case of Tom Robinson, he replies “If I didn't [take this case] […] I couldn't represent this county in legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again”

( 86 Lee). He takes on the case because it is what he believes is the right thing to do. His strong morals stop him from believing himself worthy of pride unless he adheres to them. The case of Tom tested his moral strength against what others think is right and what he believes in. Moreover, Atticus' constant resilience to the sickness of Maycomb comes through in his fight against the inevitable. When Scout realizes that Atticus will not win the case she asks him why he takes it in the first place, to which he says "Simply because we're licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win" ( 87). He believes that for change to happen, someone has to fight for it, because if nobody does, it will never change. Fighting for what Atticus believes is right will be difficult because his beliefs are not accepted by the majority of Maycomb, though he continues to do it nonetheless. Lastly, the strong morals of Atticus are brought to his life as a lawyer when he refuses to concede on his principles even in the face of horrible odds against him, because people should have the choice to do the right thing. When told that it's in his favour to drop the case, Atticus says "That boy might go to the chair, but he's not going until the truth's told" (166). Atticus knows that he will most likely not win the case, but he believes that it is necessary to give the people the option to do right, even if it is not is his favour to do so. This is hard for him because the white community ends up hating him for having the audacity of defending a black man. Atticus' strong ethics are demonstrated in his everyday life, though it is definitely a difficult thing.

Atticus' firm morals are taught to his children, even though they will be difficult for them to live by.

Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to respect the elderly and the ill. When Mrs. Dubose is, yet again short with the Jem, Atticus tells Jem " [e]asy does it […] [s]he's an old lady and she's ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it's your job not to let her make you mad" (115). Atticus teaches them through Miss Dubose that one must always be a gentleman. He tells them this knowing that she can be rude at times at that they are young, but he expects them to try their best, though it will be hard. In addition to Atticus telling them to respect the elderly and the ill, he gives Scout another piece of advice: She will have to live with anything that she does. To do this he makes Scout resilient by telling her "one thing that isn't by majority rules is a person's conscience" (120). The mindset of racism in Maycomb is very 'Majority rules' and Atticus doesn't want Jem and Scout to fall into Maycomb's disease. He also wants them to live a good, honest life so that they don't have to live with anything wrong they’ve done, and he wants them to be resilient and stay true to themselves in a world of corruption. Atticus continues to pass his morals on to his children by telling them that what other people say shouldn't make a difference in who they are. He passes this moral on by telling them " it's never an insult to be called what somebody believes is a bad name […] [,] [s]o don’t let Miss Dubose get you down" ( 124). Scout is at risk of being changed by society, that society being the racist and prejudice town of Maycomb, and Atticus is telling Scout to be strong. Being strong against society will be hard for Scout because she is at an age where she is very malleable. Atticus' strong morals cause him to take on the responsibility of passing his morals on to his children, which he does throughout the

book.

Atticus Finch is a man of unshakable morals. He demonstrates these strong morals by exercising and abiding by them in daily life, and by passing these difficult morals on to Jem and Scout.