There are many moral principles at play in To Kill a Mockingbird, though they all seem to touch on the central moral question that the novel posits: are all men created equal?
In Maycomb County, Alabama, circa 1935, the answer, as expressed in the attitudes and customs of the inhabitants, is clearly "no." Women are allowed less power than men, blacks are given less respect and much less legal protection than whites, certain religious groups are looked upon less favorably than others, the poor are treated with less regard than those above them, and certain professions are looked upon with less approval than others.
The novel's primary moral center, Atticus Finch, says as much during his peroration before the jury in his effort to free Tom Robinson:
"We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe--some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they're born with it, some men make more money than others..."
Where Atticus hopes the natural differences between men will be suspended is in America's courts, where he continues his appeal to the jury with these sentiments:
“But there is one way in this country which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man equal of an Einstein, and an ignorant man equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court..."
Alas, despite Atticus' best efforts and evidence that seems to exonerate Tom Robinson, the jury finds Tom guilty of the charge of rape, a capital offense in Alabama in the 1930s. As a black man, Tom does not enjoy equality under America's courts and is sentenced to death for a crime that appears was not even committed.
Thus, the moral principle of "All men are created equal" is undercut by the reality of life in Depression-era Maycomb County, Alabama.
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