To Kill a Mockingbird: Reflections

“When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.”   In a well-organized cluster of paragraphs, discuss how Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch embody this quotation.  Furthermore, discuss how the circumstances and conditions under which each man lives determines the degree of his success. Be sure to quote evidence to support your claims as much as possible.


  Tom Robinson displays selflessness against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order through fighting for himself, in a world where colour is held as a prejudice. He stays the honest man, and helps out Madelyn Ewell because nobody else will, and works for her for free because he knows that she needs the help.
 "You did all this chopping and work from sheer goodness, boy?"
"Tried to help her, I says."
"You're a mighty good fellow, it seems - did all this for not one penny?"
"Yes suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-" - Tom Robinson (Lee 209)
 In the end he sacrificed his life to the aid of her, and yet she went out against him. He didn't have success in surviving, because from the start he wasn't considered an equal person, and only through extreme aid from Atticus were the jury even slightly hesitant about the conviction of him. If he had been a white man, he would have no doubt been proven innocent, however he wasn't and was therefore guilty.


   Boo Radley displays selflessness against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order through defending Scout Finch and looking out for the kids regardless of what happens. He watches over everybody from his house, and despite being labelled as 'strange' doesn't leave his house often. In the rare cases that he does, it is to look out for others; for example when he gave a blanket to Scout. Another example is when Boo defends Scout from Bob Ewell (Lee 284). This man succeeds at what he wants, and is allowed to live as he wants - only insulted by those who don't understand him - and thus he is happy.


   Atticus Finch embodies this quotation as he strives throughout his life for equality between races, and all aspects of life, and for justice to be served rightfully. He devotes his soul into Tom Robinson's case, and tries as hard as he can for Tom to be freed; despite the racial segregation causing him to have little chance.

“You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women - black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.” - Atticus ( Lee 217)

 Unfortunately, Atticus is unable to change the way that the village perceives differing races, and Tom is found guilty. However he was able to instill a slight hesitation in the jury, enough to show that change can happen. Atticus also displays his distaste for violence by telling his children to hold their heads high, and ignore any insults or attacks upon them. Whereas he could have merely told them to beat up anybody who acted differently. This displays the true virtue that Atticus has, and how he devotes his life to it. His success is largely due to the fact that he is respected in his community as a righteous lawyer, who puts justice over everything. Along with that, his white background allows the community to respect him as such. 

Anthem: Reflections

"Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own  happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."


The ideal is realized in Anthem, as Equality 7-2521 begins to break free of existing for the sake of unity. It is taught that that is the way it is supposed to be, and that everyone is supposed to act for everyone's sake and not their own. However, it is displayed as a problem when Equality 7-2521 notices others around him are different, and unhappy. He displays this ideal as he starts to exist for himself, and acts out of self interest, and becomes happy, despite this going against everything he was taught.


When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?

This question makes sense, and is not a conundrum. As Equality 7-2521 set out, he acted selfishly, but out of that action showed true virtue in attempting to help the society. He wanted to teach them about the light he had discovered. He showed virtue in his act of saving his friend as well. In the end, he was determined to make a better hidden society, and despite acting in selfishness, it resulted in virtue. 

The Pearl: Reflections

 Reflections on The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Kino and Juana suffer through the paradox throughout their story, and it directly relates to their experiences.

           This paradox essentially describes the journey that Kino and Juana undertake, and how they may start out with good intentions of using the pearl to bring their people out of poverty, and to save their child. Yet the city became corrupted by the pearl, in a sense. Evil comes out of this good, the city is desperate to attain this incredible object. Eventually, Kino is forced to murder over this pearl and leaves the town in search of what he desires; disregarding what Juana was begging him to do – get rid of the pearl.

           Unfortunately, in the end, they find that despite their dreaming of what could be; being freed from their live of poverty and living a better life, the reality is a disappointment and not the expectations they had when they first found the pearl.

           Thus in conclusion, the paradox is that they had their hopes of great things to come from the pearl they found, yet in the end it was not what they had expected.

           As a result, I feel that they have learned to live with the paradox – a resignation that their dreams of breaking free couldn’t be. It is shown because they had found the magnificent pearl, and yet were still unable to break from the paradox.  They have learned to be happy with the life that they have, as attempting to break from it doesn’t end well.

           The Connection:

           I feel that the connection between this is directly related to Kino’s life, as he is the one to take action.

           His action of gathering the pearl and then attempting to sell it to save his son’s life truly displays the act of selflessness that he did. He tried to get what he needed, and was denied this by the city. The city is the prevailing vice, as it works against Kino selfishly, because it desires the pearl for itself. He continues to display virtue by wanting to free his people from the prison-like society that they are stuck in, and not by giving to himself, but by making his son’s life better. He risked everything for the true freedom, of him and his people. That is the way that true virtue is displayed.