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Examples Of Nonviolent Resistance In To Kill A Mockingbird

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When Harper Lee was asked about her book, To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM), she stated “it’s a love story, plain and simple.” Despite the lack of romance between couples, Harper Lee’s statement couldn’t have been truer. TKAM features a different type of love than most love stories, a love called agape. Agape is love for all people, and instead of typical romantic actions, it is shown by treating everyone nicely, regardless of what they do. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote six pillars of nonviolent resistance which show both how to exhibit agape and nonviolently protest. The characters in TKAM often follow these pillars, and show agape love frequently. According to Dr. King Jr., the fifth pillar of nonviolent resistance and agape is when someone “not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.”(Popova) An example of a character that doesn’t hate his enemy is Atticus in TKAM. When Scout asked Atticus if it was okay to hate Hitler, Atticus responded “‘It is not’...’it’s not okay to hate anybody’” (Lee 330). Although Atticus disagrees with Hitler, and turns off the radio whenever he is mentioned, he still does not have any hatred for Hitler, and tells his daughter, Scout, not to hate him. …show more content…

Scout shows bravery when she talks to Mr Cunningham, the leader of a mob trying to kill Tom Robinson. While the mob was attempting to go in the prison where Tom Robinson was, Scout stopped the mob by showing kindness and agape love to Mr. Cunningham, by saying “‘Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment getting along?’” (Lee 175), and talking to him about his son. After Scout acted bravely, Mr. Cunningham acted nicely to Scout, and instructed the mob to

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