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Does the novel To Kill a Mockingbird make a final statement regarding how race should affect our treatment of others?

Yes. Harper Lee's resounding message concerning the treatment of others is that every individual deserves respect, justice, and equality regardless of race, class, or religion.Atticus is one of the main characters throughout the novel who displays tolerance towards everyone. He is a morally upright individual who courageously defends Tom Robinson in front of a prejudiced jury and town. He is also the perfect role model to his children and shares with them numerous lessons...

Yes. Harper Lee's resounding message concerning the treatment of others is that every individual deserves respect, justice, and equality regardless of race, class, or religion. Atticus is one of the main characters throughout the novel who displays tolerance towards everyone. He is a morally upright individual who courageously defends Tom Robinson in front of a prejudiced jury and town. He is also the perfect role model to his children and shares with them numerous lessons concerning the proper treatment of others. In Chapter 11, Scout asks her father what a nigger-lover is and he tells her,



"nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything---like snot-nose. It's hard to explain---ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody" (Lee 144).



Scout then asks Atticus if he is a nigger-lover and he says,



"I certainly am, I do my best to love everybody...I'm hard put, sometimes---baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name" (Lee 144).



Atticus' feelings toward racial slurs like "nigger-lover" depict Lee's message regarding the treatment of African Americans. His comments suggest that despite the overt prejudice, a person should "love everyone" rather than spread hateful sentiment. Atticus also tells Jem in Chapter 23,



"As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it---whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (Lee 295).



Atticus clearly states that he considers a person to be "trash" if they treat black people unfairly or view them with contempt. The overwhelming message of the novel is that individuals deserve to be treated equally with respect regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

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