Importance Of Moral Education In To Kill A Mockingbird

a. Atticus is a wise man, committed to justice and equality, and his parenting style is based on fostering these virtues in his children—he even encourages Jem and Scout to call him “Atticus” so that they can interact on terms as equal as possible. Throughout the novel, Atticus works to develop Scout’s and Jem’s respective consciences, through both teaching, as when he tells Scout to put herself in a person’s shoes before she judges them.

Firstly, through the Finch family, Atticus teaches both his children that they should never judge a book by its cover, and that courage is one of the most important qualities one can have. Near the beginning of the book, Scout comes home from school, extremely flustered about the day. She then continues to rant about how awful the children at school are, as well as her teacher. Atticus, her father, replies “... You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. Later in the book, Atticus sends his son, Jem, to an old woman’s house, whom he hates, to read to her. Unknowingly by Jem, he is being sent to help the woman out of a morphine addiction. After Jem has completed his service, they find that the woman has died and sent a gift to Jem as a thanks for all he has done. In turn, Jem is completely dumbfounded by the gesture to the point that “[His] eyes nearly [pop] out of his head”. Atticus comforts Jem, then continues to explain the courage of the woman and the heroism of Jem, and how courage is “... when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”. Not only does this show how Atticus’ core values as a parent, it also shows how he parents and how he wants his children to grow up to be. On the other side of things however, the Ewell family has incredibly loose family values, and certain members of the family are unwilling to help the family improve their way of life.

Atticus teaches Jem and scout a number of important lessons which will help them in life. However tolerance is one of the most important, because if people tolerate one another then things like war or racism will not exist, and they are two of the biggest areas of conflict in the world. Atticus models tolerance for his children by taking the case of and accused rapist. He defends a black man even though most of the town is against it and treat him discourteously because of it. Scout went against her father’s wishes by not

Lee’s characterization of Atticus Finch as just and moral displays that considering events from another’s point of view can help people understand others’ prejudice, and negative actions. When Atticus’ daughter, Scout, is six years old, she attends school for the first time. Scout confides to her father about her first day of school during which she became upset. As any parent would, her father gave her some advice, “‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-...-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee

Atticus and his children both had to deal with the adversity against them because of the communities differences in opinion. They kept their integrity through it all with Jem and scout having their father’s moral advice and support to help them. Though many succumb to the pressures put on us, there are also many Atticus’s out there that have a moral and ethical conscience backing them up. They become a role model that breeds integrity through their moral practices. “Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” (Lee, pg.108)

If you were a parent would you want the best for your kids? Would you want to teach them to search out for the true meaning of dignity and respect? This was the goal of one father, Atticus Finch. Being a nearly fifty-year-old man with extremely young children he wanted to share his wisdom and firsthand experiences with his children to shape them into a respectable young man and woman. Throughout his life, Atticus is taught many experiences himself about not judging someone, and to stand up for the helpless and defenseless. Some important morals that he carried through to teach his children in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is to never judge someone by their social class or race, and to fight for the justice of all the people of Maycomb.

1) Atticus is an empathetic person who tries to make sure people are treated equally, and in the case of his children, that people should grow up and make a positive difference. Atticus shows his empathy by telling Scout to try to understand what Miss Caroline is going through. Harper Lee is trying to show that with empathy, everyone benefits, and there would be less hate and injustice. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 39). Atticus is telling Scout to look at the world through Miss Caroline’s eyes, to see why Miss Caroline reacts the way that she does. Atticus believes that if Scout can see how scared Miss Caroline is, with teaching a new school in a new way, then Scout can understand what makes Miss Caroline act the way that she does. When Scout asks Atticus why he is angering the town by defending Tom Robinson, he says that he must, or else he would no longer be reputable. Atticus says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (Lee 101) Atticus leads by example, and that if he did not hold himself to the same standard that he wants Scout and Jem to be at, then he is no better than the rest of the town. He knows that he is going to lose, but wants to show his children that it is important to do the right thing no matter the consequences or result, and

Atticus is a wise father and helps his children accept people no matter how they look or act. This is evident when he says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” (Lee 33). Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout mature at different paces. Atticus guides his children as they begin to grow and mature. “It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem.” “No son, It’s not right.” (Lee 243). When Atticus lost the case, Jem expressed how he felt. He had tears on his face. Here was a turning point for Jem because he was old enough to understand the case. Atticus comforted him and agreed it was not right. Atticus shows affection towards his children when they saved him from trouble with “the mob”. “As they passed under a streetlight, Atticus reached out and massaged Jem’s hair, his one gesture of affection.” (Lee 176). At first, Atticus may have been frustrated with his children being at the office. Then, their innocence saved him. Atticus has many characteristics and is a loving father. Atticus displays a valuable lesson about equality and fairness for his children.

Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist and educator known for his theory of moral development. He was a professor at Harvard University before he was a developmental psychologist. He later moved into the field of moral education. Jean Piaget (Swiss psychologist), John Dewey (American philosopher), and James Mark Baldwin (American philosopher and psychologist) all influenced Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, though Piaget 's work heavily influenced Kohlberg’s. Kohlberg ran tests to prove his theory.He tested 72 boys from middle and lower class families who were either 10, 13 or 16. Later in his research, he tested both boys and girls from different states and countries other than Chicago. Kohlberg found

In books, many characters go through moral development. The book To Kill A Mockingbird shows many examples of characters that go through this development and characters that help others develop. While there are many different characters in the book, the focus is on the development of Jem and Scout Finch with the help of Atticus and Calpurnia. The kids are introduced when they are young and over the span of the book, the adults teach and help them, making them have a different understanding of the world only two years later. With the guidance of Atticus and Cal, Jem and Scout go through a big moral change.

Lawrence Kohlberg is known for his theory of moral development developed in 1958. His theory was dependent on the thinking of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and American philosopher John Dewey. It consists of three levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. These levels are based on the degree to which an individual accommodates to the conventional standards of society. Each level aquires two stages that serve as different standards of sophistication in moral reasoning. Overall, Kohlberg affirms that moral development is a process of maturing that emerges from thinking about about moral issues (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”).

First, Atticus Finch is a genuine, moral literary character because he knows that you must understand a person and know them before you can judge them. "Scout," said Atticus, "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things... it's not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down—well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you'll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn't let you down." (ch.11 pg.120) Atticus tries to explain to Scout the importance of understanding someone and getting to know the person before she does things. Atticus can take time to know a person, watching their actions, and seeing how they act. He then understands them and their position better than before, which can help him to better comprehend and

He then holds them responsible for what they do and say. Although his ways are different than the societal standards, Atticus’s involvement with his children is effective for discipline. He does not always discipline them in the same manner, but does so in ways fitting to the circumstances. Atticus chooses particular words to express exactly what his children need to hear in order to mend their ways. Often, he simply expresses his disappointment. Sometimes, he uses firm reprimanding. Once, we see Atticus use his keen intellect, employing what Scout calls “the oldest lawyer’s trick on record” (50) so that Jem admits to “putting [Mr. Radley’s] life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood” (49), as Atticus describes it. Scout’s father teaches by example countless times when he reminds her that “it ain’t time to worry yet” (70), even when a fire threatens to sweep away all of their belongings. In addition to his honest discussions with Scout and Jem, Atticus gives them many profound lessons through his intentional interactions with others.

Lastly, Atticus emphasizes how vital inner peace and making the moral decision in a given situation is to maturation. For instance, in a conversation with his children, Atticus comments, “Before I can live with other folks I got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by a majority rule is a man’s conscience.” (Lee 105) By emphasizing the importance of having personal integrity and doing the ethical thing in any circumstance, Atticus provides his children with wisdom that will carry them through life. Therefore, through unremittingly reiterating the importance of moral decisions, proving the need for pacifism and establishing the importance of multiple perspectives, Atticus verifies himself as a major contributor in Jem and Scout’s development into adolescence.

A moral: “To be concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour, and the goodness or badness of a character”. Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, evidently shows the importance of morals, and how Jem and Scout's development is affected and modified as the plot unfolds. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, there are multiple debatable morals induced by Jem and Scout, and both their ways of being. Scout was able to progress throughout the plot, exceeding herself along the way. Jem as well had an increase of growth as the novel developed.