Analysis Of The Moral Choices Made By Atticus Finch In The Novel To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee is an American novelist, who wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird” that deals with the adult attitudes towards race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. It is a novel that is mainly showing the social problems of racism, which forces the characters to make moral choices between good and bad as their identity changes through different events. There, it’s important to understand how the characters’ identities influenced the choices to help us to have a further comprehension of this novel. Through the following text, how Atticus Finch expresses his identities will be shown by the moral choices he makes.
Atticus Finch is one of the main characters in “to kill a Mockingbird”, which is having more than one identity in the novel that’s harmony between each other. Even so, occasionally that Atticus still can’t effectively make the correct choices based on his identities’ conflict. He has 2 main identities, being the lawyer in Maycomb and the father of Scout and Jem, and by being a lawyer that defends for Tom Robinson, people give Tom Robinson another identity of being a “nigger-lover.’ By having these identities, it’s sometimes hard for him to choose which side should he be standing on instead of the other identity perspectives.
As a father, he tried his best to find the balance between being a lawyer, which is a job that is busy with his duties and often left Scout and Jem behind. Even so, he still tried his best of being a good father and is showing how he is trying to balance the identities. Atticus didn’t only be a father that takes care of the kids, but also a parent that gave the kids correct concepts and tolerance, “climb into his skin and walk around in it”, “stop tormenting that man (Boo).” these 2 quotes are showing how Atticus taught his kids to not be rude and should not be judging people before knowing them well. This relates to what a lawyer should be like and shows how being a lawyer makes him a better father on teaching the kids things that they should understand.
As a lawyer, it’s sometimes hard to tell the kids what they should be like, because they often give the incorrect thoughts of the justice they believe, but not in Atticus’ cases. By being the lawyer of Tom Robinson, the black people that was misunderstood as the criminal, he shows himself being a person without prejudiced ideas and taught his kids so, which gave them the correct concept in these areas.
Atticus set an example to the kids, and is hoping ‘“they come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town.”’ and is showing that the identity of being a lawyer helps the learning of the kids. But also by defending for Tom Robinson, people gave him an identity of “nigger-lover”, which he did not deny on. ‘“You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you?” “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes—baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you.” people insult him as a “nigger-lover”, and even Scout is angry about this, but Atticus agree with this negative identity and is showing that having this title is not a shame to him, and even feel proud of it, because this is showing that he is not like others that are being racist. By having these identities, how Atticus will be making the moral choices were clearly shown.
By looking at the moral choices he made in the content shows how he is the symbol of justice, and through his different identities, the choices were made under the certain context that will be changed through different events happen. This is showing how the identities are important that will change the way and the choices they made for the situation. The 2 main moral choices that he made in the novel, one is to kill the mad dog so as to protect his children, the other one is to defend for Tom Robinson who is a black man.
As a father, he always tries to make himself the demonstration of his kids, which as he made any choices, he considered what lessons he can teach the kids through the choice made. By being a lawyer (defend for black people), it tells the readers that he has his moral compass, which varies from the community. Atticus doesn’t like killing things with a gun, even under the situation of he shoots well that was even called as “one-shot Finch,’ and is because he doesn’t like to flaunt about his advantages and power. ‘“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.”’ this is showing how he is guiding his kids about his conception of using guns.
But under this kind of view, he still picks up the gun so as to protect his kids from the mad dog. “Atticus pushed his glasses to his forehead; they slipped down, and he dropped them in the street. In the silence, I heard them crack. Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin; we saw him blink hard” the way he is acting like when picking up the gun is showing how shooting is unfamiliar and struggle for him, but he still tries to cheer himself up to protect his family and is showing the moral choices that he made was influenced by the identity of being a father.
The most significant event that happens on Atticus is how he has the identity of being a lawyer that defends for Tom Robinson. As a person that grew up in Maycomb, which is full of racism, it is hard to have a different view than others of accepting different skin-color, but instead of listening to what others think about him and his actions, he decides to follow what he believes is the justice. ‘“Lemme tell you somethin’ now, Billy,” a third said, “you know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.” “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it.”’ this is from other’s perspective of believing that Tom Robinson is the criminal without any supports and evidence, but not Atticus’ case.
He can choose to not defend him in what the crowd said that he aims to defend him, and is showing that this is ‘his’ choice. This moral choice of defending Tom is a bad choice in other people’s perspective because this means that he is going against the justice that the crowd thinks is correct, but it is a choice that is brave and really a good choice because he doesn’t care about what other’s call him as a “nigger-lover” but believes in the true justice, and show how the choice he made affect the identity he owned.
Atticus’ identity as a father affect his choice of killing the mad dog, and his identity as a lawyer affect his choices of defending for Tom Robinson and causes himself to have another identity as a “nigger-lover.’ Through these examples of Atticus Finch shows how identity affects the moral choices in a context and the identities will be affected by the social situation.
