How do Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet show morality?

Both Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet demonstrate morality when humbly accepting not being given due credit for their deeds.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, though Atticus does not win his case, he challenges society's racist beliefs and the legal system's inadequacies. Many in the town are grateful for his efforts, including African Americans, Judge Taylor, and Sheriff Heck Tate; however, the majority of Maycomb's people remain stuck in their prejudiced ways and critical of his actions. We especially see their critical attitude when Scout reports how she is treated at school after the trial. She notes that the children are nice but distant and their attitude seems to be one handed down to them by their parents. Scout concludes that their parents' attitudes "must have been that neither [she nor Jem] could help having Atticus for a parent, so their children must be nice to [them] in spite of him" (Ch. 26). The townspeople's critical attitude towards Atticus's actions shows the townspeople refuse to find value in Atticus's accomplishment and, therefore, refuse to give him credit for having achieved anything other than make the town's African American citizens grumble. Though Atticus continues to be criticized for his good accomplishments, he does not allow the criticisms to affect him, as we see when he continues on with his daily life, even resuming his duties in the state legislature, showing readers he is humbly able to accept a lack of respect.

Similarly, though Holmes is the one who solves the case in A Study in Scarlet, Scotland Yard takes all the credit, as we see when Holmes hands Watson a newspaper article that only mentions Holmes's name in saying the murderer was captured in Holmes's rented rooms. Knowing Scotland Yard would take all the credit, Holmes very humbly and philosophically accepts credit being stolen from him when he says to Watson, "What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. . . the question is, what can you make people believe that you have done" (Chapter 7).

Both Atticus and Holmes behave morally when they humbly accept other people's attitudes towards them.