To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, demonstrates how people use self-justification to convince themselves that what they are doing has a good reason. In this case, many of the characters’ reasons were not just, nor they did not make enough sense to justify the severity of their actions. Vincent Parrillo states that “[people] require reassurances that the things we do and the lives we lead are proper” and “that good reasons for our actions exist” (1). For that reason, sometimes people create inadequate reasoning for their actions to avoid any guilt. Lula, Bob Ewell, and the mob at the jail all use self-justification to absolve their conscience, although they do so for insufficient reasons.
The Finch children had to go to Calpurnia’s…show more content… He was resentful of anyone involved with the Tom Robinson’s trial, because he thought his reputation was tainted afterwards. This is because he believed that Judge Taylor made him look like a fool, by looking at him "as if he were a three-legged chicken or a square egg," while he was testifying (Lee 335). Also, according to Atticus, “very few people in Maycomb really believed his and Mayella’s yarns” and that after the trial the town quickly dismissed him back to the dumpster, instead of him being named the hero he envisioned himself as (335). Bob was even angry at Atticus for "getting his job," when in reality he just was too lazy to keep one (332). These reasons all helped him to justify his actions against Judge Taylor, Helen Robinson, Scout, and Jem. The first incident was when he tried to burglarize Judge Taylor when he thought he would be at church. Although it was never proven that it was Bob, it can be inferred because no one else would have the motive to do it. Then, he harassed Tom's wife, Helen, whenever she would pass by the Ewell house. At first he just threw things at her, but once her employer Link Deas confronted him his actions became more threatening. He followed her on her route to work, while he whispered foul words behind her. He felt justified in doing this because she was Tom's wife, although his reason is invalid because she never…show more content… Instead of thinking logically they all made up faulty reasoning to support what they did. Lula reasoned that she was making up for the way white people have treated her, even though Scout and Finch never did anything wrong. Bob Ewell thought that everyone involved in the case damaged his reputation, even though that was his doing, and the mob believed that Maycomb was better the way it was, and they should therefore do whatever they can to sustain the attitude of the town. All of these flawed reasonings contributed to threatening and hurting other people who did not deserve the abuse. Their use of self-justification helped to broaden a divide between the two races, while also supporting the continuation of discrimination and prejudice in
