To Kill A Mockingbird Ethical Dilemmas

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

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”).

G.K Chesterton quotes, “I say that a man must be certain of his morality for a simple reason that he has to suffer for it.” Harper Lee’s novel To Kill Mockingbird tells the story of a character who makes moral and ethical decisions while facing many problems. Atticus Finch is a man of unshakable morals. This is demonstrated through him teaching his children morals and him fighting for what is right.

In a hostile environment, the task of having morality is often difficult. Maycomb, Alabama is a hostile city with different kinds of people. Everyone has his or her own values, and their families reflect upon it. Within this violent environment, Atticus Finch and Calpurnia teach Scout about their opinions on empathy and respect. One of Atticus’s main values is empathy.

Black and white, right and wrong; do decisions that simple and clear even exist? Does a decision ever mean gaining everything without giving anything up? Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are forced to make difficult, heart wrenching decisions that have no clear right answer. Harper Lee presents many of these important decisions in To Kill A Mockingbird as ethical dilemmas, or situations that require a choice between two difficult alternatives. Both of these alternatives have unpleasant aspects and question morals and ethics. A person is put in an awkward position, with their mind saying contradicting things. These dilemmas are presented in many different ways. The

How to Kill a Mockingbird Essay The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a coming of age story in the 1930s. The characters live in Maycomb County is southern Alabama during the great depression, when poverty and segregation are a major issues. Maycomb is a very small town, where everyone knows each other, and rarely gets knew members or people leaving.

In the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the novel depicts a Southern town with a crisis of conscience and race. The story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930s, while poverty and unemployment were at their peak due to the Great Depression. Maycomb like any other town has its agriculture, buildings, and people. With people come injustices, judgmental views, consciences, crimes, etc. Due to this there are law enforcers, courts, lawyers, judges and those accusing or being accused. One of the town lawyers is Atticus Finch. Atticus is a level-headed man who has faced many dilemmas with his profession as a lawyer, family and town. Atticus has a daughter, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, and

In this novel, many characters are subject to types of cruelty. Two specific characters are Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell. In the book, Atticus says, "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man,” (204). This unnecessarily harsh and entirely unfair, but sadly true. Tom is given an unfair trial, that is biased and he is blamed for something he

Many people are judged because of the way they are raised, which leads to a misunderstanding of the individual, but when understood, judgment can differ. In the novels To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe, Arthur Radley, and R.C Rydell can relate to being misunderstood similar and different ways.

Morality is not a virtue that many can tolerate without a conscience. It was considered the critical awareness of humanity's standards of conduct that are accepted as proper. Yet, for Scout, morality becomes not only a principle, but also a necessity in order for her to survive in the prejudiced society of Maycomb County. It is solely the essence of ethics that causes her to frown upon the injustices brought about by intolerance. Thus, Scout's maturity towards understanding the vitality of morality allows her to become a noble individual in an unjust social order.

“So a quiet, respectable Negro man who had the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman is on trial for his life. He’s had to put his word against two white accusers, not to remind the reader of their conduct here in court – their cynical confidence that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negros lie, that all Negros are forever immoral, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber. However, the truth- and the truth is, some Negros lie, and some Negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white. And so with some white men. This is a truth that applies to the entire human race, and to no particular race.”(Lee

James J. Corbett once wisely stated, “Individuals can resist injustice, but only a community can do justice”. This quote paints a clear picture of how sometimes individuals, such as Atticus, can stand up for what’s right, yet the entire community must invest in justice in order to advance in this area. All citizens must make an investment in seeing that justice is done not only by neighbors, but also committing to strive for justice and truth in their own lives. Sadly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb allow the town to fall into traps of racial and personal injustice, treating others without common respect and curtesy. This in turn results in a community characterized by unfair thinking and assumptions. The theme of injustice is woven throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, as shown by the false accusation of Tom Robinson, the attacking of Jem and Scout, and the way the town treats and talks about Boo Radley.

Have you ever had a problem where neither of the solutions work. The book to kill a mockingbird is by harper lee. The book is about a girl named Scout, it is told in her point of view. There is one theme that stands out is “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”. A mockingbird represents innocence and so when you do kill a mockingbird you are killing the innocent, and the whole story revolves around that theme and by the end Scout identifies the mockingbirds in her neighbor and her family and her perspective of them changes. Some of the ethical dilemmas are when they are at the trial for tom robinson, or when jem is told to go home by his dad but jem says no because he doesn't want anything to happen to his dad. The last ethical dilemma is when

When examining the morality of an action, one must consider several factors, including the consequences, intentions, intrinsic nature of the act, and the beneficial or harmful effects that result. The classic film, To Kill a Mockingbird, depicts several instances where a character’s actions may be perceived as morally wrong, based on the fundamental principles of ethical theories. In the following, I will discuss the case where Atticus makes a choice to defend Tom Robinson, and I will apply two ethical theories to explain how his action could be considered morally wrong or morally right. Ultimately, I will illustrate that from a utilitarian perspective, Atticus’ action can be considered wrong, whereas a Kantian perspective would identify his action as justifiable.

From this present moment to your childhood, how much have you changed?Has the way you deem right and wrong changed as you have matured? The novel to To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee in 1960 is a book which covers many real world social issues. But maybe the most prominent aspect is the views on morality and the treatment of others; it is displayed by naive, innocent children unaffected by the biased views deeply held by adults.This creates a point of view that progresses as the kids grow up. We see how the moral values of the kids are affected by loved ones,human nature, and society.