What Is The Values In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, is without a doubt one of the most influential books in our country’s history, it 's been praised by everyone from Oprah to John Travolta, because, despite its age, it has managed to stay relevant through its messages and lessons. To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that is chock-full of important lessons, including that not everyone is what they seem, that you must persevere in the face of hardship and society, and to not be blind to the truth and allow the innocent to suffer.

One of the most prevalent themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is that people are multifaceted, and that one shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. This is clear in several instances, the first of which applies to Boo Radley. Boo Radley is

Atticus lives by this, and strives to instill the same values in his kids. When the whole town turns against him for taking Tom Robinson’s case, he refuses to give up. Even his sister tells him to drop the case, but to no avail. Even when everyone is against his decision, he still stands up for what he believes in, saying “...if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislate, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” showing his steadfastness when it comes to his morals and basic principles. Atticus demonstrates this same perseverance in fighting for Tom, even though it is quite clear he will lose. It is obvious that Tom didn’t rape Mayella, but the townspeople will side against, simply because he is black, something Atticus is well aware of. Despite that he continues trying his hardest to do what he knows is right, to help those who need it, and he does so calmly and respectfully. This is something Scout regularly struggles with, she is prone to fits of anger and stubbornness while defending her beliefs. There are several instances where Scout faces ignorance and hate, especially regarding her father’s decision. However, instead of agreeing with society, she takes a stand, which although often violent, shows that she too is capable of persevering in the face of

Scout is constantly bombarded by adults who attempt to censor her education, while Atticus does the exact opposite. Her teachers are hypocritical and strict, even going as far as to hold Scout back from learning and reading. Her teacher, Caroline, is so obsessed with the way she learned to teach, that she is unable to meet Scout’s needs, leaving her frustrated and bored. The entire premise of punishing someone for being educated is irrational, but her teachers still try to hold her back. In Chapter 9, Scout is again denied information, to the frustration of both her and Atticus. When Scout asks her uncle what a “whore-lady” is, Jack refused to outright answer the question, instead going off on a nonsensical tangent, only for him to be only scolded by Atticus, who says “Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness ' sake...Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.” This shows that Atticus’ parenting style differs from most, in that he doesn’t attempt to censor his kids intake of knowledge. He lets them be curious and different, making them educated much earlier than most kids. He also doesn’t shield them from the injustices of the world, instead he teaches them to battle these injustices. The kids learn about the suffering of the innocent throughout the novel, and