Essay

The idea of good and evil has lasted as long as the human species has lived. This
idea is omnipresent: it exists in every culture. This common concept even exists in dreams
and the imaginations of humans via books. The everlasting battle between good and evil is
displayed in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird using the racism in the southern USA, the
courage to confront the morals of a southern society and the characters display of innocent
and villainous behaviour.
Harper Lees first approach to show good and evil is by the inhumane and racist
living habits of white people in the Alabama, USA. The black church that Scout Finch
attends one day is extremely poor; not being able to paint the building nor able to buy
hymnbooks. Although the black community is really poor, the ironic part is the black
church brings the people in it closer to each other than the people in the white church Scout
normally attends. During the collection, the goal was not reached after the first round, but
the generous community donated money until the goal was reached. Since the black
community of Maycomb is considered as trash, it is evil to defend these black people. In
the book, the correct action to take in a situation when a Negro is on trial is to declare
them as guilty. In Tom Robinsons trial, Toms innocent, peaceful and polite spirit is
annihilated by the evil and gruesome acts of racism the jury shows. Again, another display
of racism is the menacing mob that tries to attack Tom Robinson. The mob is a good
example of how good can triumph over evil. Scouts politeness makes Mr.Cunningham
realize what he is doing is wrong. Her kindness shows that a gang of wild animals can be
stopped, simply because theyre still human.(157) Good and evil will live on through
many human concepts, racism being one of them.
Courage is an essential element for humans to succeed in life, especially in
Maycomb. Mrs.Dubose represents evil; she is extremely racist and has a very pessimistic
view point. However, she has courage to overcome her morphine addiction, one of the
main causes of her evil ways. Equally important, Atticus shoots the rabid dog that is
striking fear into the citizens of Maycomb. Killing the animal shows Atticus is determined

to protect Maycombs citizens from dangerous threats, such as the dog. In addition to these
acts of courage, Mr.Cunningham votes Tom Robinson innocent. Cunningham shows
courage to see beyond his uneducated, racist self and see Maycombs true side which
consists of battles of black and white. These characters show countless acts of courage,
even though they know theyre licked before [they] begin, [they] begin anyway and [they]
see it through no matter what.(112)
Humans in the story develop different traits that separate them from others;
sometimes the traits are full of malevolence, others full of grace, like a mockingbird. One
of the characters that show grace is Boo Radley. His soul possesses eternal kindness, even
though evil stereotypical rumours make Boo sound like a mad man. Originally portrayed
as a cat-eating monster, Boo Radley turns out to be as innocent as a mockingbird. In his
past, he is simply being deprived of kindness as a child due to his father, a crazy footwashing Baptist. (44) The next mockingbird in the book is Tom Robinson, a black man
accused of raping a white girl. Of course, most of the jury did not believe his testimony
because he is black. The honest Tom Robinson is being treated like dirt by Mr.Gilmer in
the trial and thus showing good and evil yet again. Tom Robinson does nothing but work,
so it should be a sin to kill him, just like killing a mockingbird. Lastly, continuous
innocence is displayed by Atticus and Scout Finch. Scouts best display of kindness is
when she is talking to Mr.Cunningham. She tries to ignore and accept Cunninghams sins
and appreciate his good qualities. Scout certainly has learnt her ways of innocence from
Atticuss parenting style. Even when Bob Ewell spits in Atticuss face, Atticus does not get
mad at him or fight back. These characters listed above have biased characteristics that
quickly determine if the character is an innocent mockingbird or a crazy villian.
In conclusion, good deeds and evil acts last throughout the book To Kill a
Mockingbird via the characters in the book, endless racism and determined acts of courage.
Altogether, the ubiquitous theory of good and evil exists everywhere such as when it is
displayed throughtout the book.