To Kill a Mockingbird Persuasive Essay

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Atticus had many different morals that he tried to live by, but another significant one in the book was the need to remain calm and civilized at all times even when people are rude to you. Atticus lives by this rule many times in his life, and he tries to instill it in the children as well. He uses this principle to explain to Scout that even when people say something rude to you, you need to be respectful, and not saying anything back. Atticus tells Scout to “hold your head high, and keep your fists down. No matter what anyone says do not let them get your goat” (Lee 80). A classmate of Scout’s, Cecil Jacobs, calls Atticus a nigger lover, and Scout starts to fight him before she is pulled off. Atticus tells her that these people who at this time are making disrespectful comments are still there friends no matter what, and the next day Scout walks by with her head high, and does not fight Cecil even when he starts to make other snide comments. Atticus even follows this principle when Bob Ewell spits in his face; his only comment was “I wish Bob Ewell would not chew tobacco” (Lee 220). No matter what happens Atticus always tries to live by his principles along with trying to instill them in his children.

While Scout experiences many beneficial lessons in her young life, many believe a formal schooling is a necessity. Even though Miss Caroline Fisher wasn’t the best teacher she tried her best; it was her first year teaching, so she was learning as she went along. Since Miss Caroline was new to town, she did not understand the dynamics of the town and the people that lived there. They all had a very different upbringing than her, and it was hard for her to wrap her head around some of the parts of the children’s daily lives, but she tried her best to help teacher the children. Most of what Miss Fisher taught the children Scout had already learned from Atticus like reading; Atticus had taught Scout to read at a very young age, and she has been reading ever since. Scout’s personal experiences in school taught her many other real-life lessons like how to react in new or uncomfortable situations, and while it did help her learn a few life lessons, she was not able to comprehend them in the beginning. She had to have Atticus explain and reason with her because she was very confused as to the way Miss Fisher and many others throughout the story reacted. Even with the few reasons school was beneficial to her, she still learned many more valuable life lessons from Atticus.

Atticus tried to instill the principles in his children that they should not judge others actions immediately until they have considered every point of view in the situation. Atticus did his best to demonstrate his morals throughout the book, and especially displays the last principle when he represents Tom Robinson to the best of his abilities, and he is able to remain calm and civilized at all points in his life no matter what others actions were. Atticus has many morals that he lived by in his everyday life no matter how hard it was, and he was instilling the same morals in his own children as they were maturing. Atticus taught Scout many valuable real-life lessons; more than she received in her formal schooling.

Bibliography

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.