To Kill A Mockingbird Equality

Which is better, a just world or an equal one? Both are important to our world in different ways. Justice, or fairness, fights for a world in which everyone can survive. Equality, or sameness, wants the same things for all people. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird teaches us that justice is recognizing fairness is not sameness.

Justice is when everyone receives what they need. As a general rule, people come from different social backgrounds. Therefore, nothing is fair from the beginning of one's existence. To Kill A Mockingbird has a lot to say about justice and the lack thereof. Tom Robinson is an honest, noble man who has the misfortune of being born black in Alabama. He is nothing but kind to Mayella Ewell, but she turns on him to hide her own guilt. Despite being clearly innocent, Tom is condemned because he has "the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman." Nothing about Tom's story is just. The same thing happens in our everyday lives. A police officer can choke a man to death and walk away scot free. Our time and the time of To Kill A Mockingbird are not as

different as we would like to think. Atticus' quotes still hold true. "A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty." Atticus knows how unjust people can be and tries to advise against this in his closing argument before the court. While justice is an important theme in To Kill A Mockingbird, equality is of equal importance.

As opposed to justice, equality is when everyone gets the same treatment. Equality assumes all people have the same chance at life. Thus, all people need and deserve the exact same things. Atticus is an advocate of equality in TKAM. He speaks out against racism in Maycomb County, Alabama. At that time, many white people consider themselves better than blacks. Some even go as far as to ridicule those who defend African-Americans. Even children have picked up on their parents' prejudice. Scout comes home after school and asks Atticus if he is a nigger-lover. Atticus responds in his usual elegant fashion. "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody." (109) Atticus tries to love all people the same, regardless of class or ethnicity. However, he is one of the few in the county with these ideals.

So why do equality and justice need different paragraphs?

This is because they are similar but completely separate things. The fact that a cow has four legs but a human has two is unequal, but not unjust. Humans have no use for two extra legs, and cows need four legs to keep their balance. This inequality is not immoral in any way. Equality is not always a good thing, but justice is. Only the good side of equality is shown in To Kill A Mockingbird, however. The difference between justice and equality is not very clear. However, a quote from Henri-Frédéric Amiel, a Swiss philosopher, shows equality in a less positive light. "Liberty, equality, bad principles! The only true principle for humanity is justice, and justice towards the feeble becomes necessarily protection or kindness." According to this man, the only thing needed is justice and all other moral obligations will

follow.

All of this brings us back to the question of our preference. Which is better, justice or equality? Equality is important on principle. In some cases, all people should be equal. All men were created equal, but time has passed. People are born into places so different they seem worlds apart. What is really necessary in our world is justice. Different people will need different things in life, and a world based on equality will not be able to provide. Sameness is not and never will be the same as fairness. As shown by Harper Lee, justice is needed in society.