James Weiss
English 11H-2
March 11, 2009
Ms. Walker

Ethics: The Keys to Humanity's Forbearance

Morality is not a virtue that many can tolerate without a conscience. It was considered the critical awareness of humanity's standards of conduct that are accepted as proper. Yet, for Scout, morality becomes not only a principle, but also a necessity in order for her to survive in the prejudiced society of Maycomb County. It is solely the essence of ethics that causes her to frown upon the injustices brought about by intolerance. Thus, Scout's maturity towards understanding the vitality of morality allows her to become a noble individual in an unjust social order. Scout's innocence is solely a consequence of her age and …show more content…

Scout's six year-old fantasies underscore why those in her community would be ostracized by society, colored or not. Since she cannot reconcile why people discriminate only that they do, she begins to become a product of a biased society until she learns differently. Fundamentally, Boo is really no different than Tom. He experiences the same level of bigotry that Tom does and for the same reasons: prejudged, misunderstood and alienated. Furthermore, even through the actual trial, "[Scout reveals] the deep-seated racial divisions of the South and the tenacious efforts to maintain those divisions" (Felty 300). When Robinson's verdict is given, Dill contests as to, " why [the guilty verdict] is unfair," to which Scout replies, "Well after all Dill, he's just a Negro" (Lee 84). Scout exposes her prejudiced nature by condemning Tom Robinson because of his color much like she condemns Boo for his behavior. Not only does she recognize the injustice in Tom's trial, but also the inevitability, whereas it takes Boo saving her life and Jem's to understand him. Maycomb is a community divided and severed by both ethnic and socio-economic strife, both for which Tom and Boo are victimized. Even though Scout's remark is harsh, it is the voice of naivety. Scout and Dill are both impacted by the trial and its prejudiced verdict;