To Kill A MockingBird

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Life Lessons Atticus Finch Teaches His Children in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One of the life lessons that Atticus Finch teaches his children is the value of human dignity and the need for respect for others. Throughout the novel, Atticus' attitude towards other people, especially the despised Maycomb's Black community, acts as a living moral example to his young son Jem and daughter Scout. In one of his many conversations with Scout, he tells her that "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb around in his skin and walk around in it" (Lee 33). This statement reflects the negative attitude that Maycomb's White community had toward Blacks, whom they considered not human enough to live or intermarry with. The fate of Tom Robinson, a Black man wrongly accused of raping a white lady, demonstrates the prejudice of the Whites toward Blacks. Although Robinson is as harmless and innocent as a mockingbird, he is summarily declared guilty and convicted to life imprisonment by a White jury simply because he is black. However, Atticus understands that race does not make one person good and the other bad. He instills this understanding in his children by teaching them that one must endeavor to know others better before judging them. It requires interacting with a person (climbing the skin around them) to understand their character instead of basing one's judgment on appearances and hearsay.
The character of Arthur "Boo" Radley provides a good example where innocence is destroyed because people do not take time to understand others. Boo is a recluse who rarely gets out of their house to interact with the rest of society. As a result, his reputation is built around inaccurate rumors about his character and personality. At the beginning of the novel, Scout, Jem and Dill believe that he is some kind of monster because they have never seen him or had a chance to interact with him. For the same reasons, the rest of society treats him like an outcast. Unknown to Scout and others is the fact that Boo is a victim of parental abuse, an innocent child who was emotionally tortured by his father and then confined to their home until he lost contact with the outside society. At the same time, he is a kind, generous, and warm-hearted person, in contrast to the gothic image that is painted of him. It is not until much later that Scout begins to see him as the harmless and innocent mockingbird. He proves his kindness by leaving presents for Scout, Jem, and Dill, and also for saving Scout and Jem after they are attacked by Robert Ewell. The cold treatment that Boo receives from society despite his good nature shows that he is like the innocent mockingb...