Chapter 9 explores the underlying sense of hubris in the Finch family. This is seen most crudely in Scout, when provoked by her cousin, Francis who called her father a “Nigger lover” in reference to Scouts father, Atticus defending a Black man accused of a crime by the Ewes family. This causes Scout to lose her composure and attack Francis, and almost immediately is caught and punished. An excess in pride is also seen in Francis, who critisizes Atticus as he himself believes (or is simply reiterating an opinion of his parents or grandparents) that Atticus is shaming the family, and his pride urges him to process this.

Even Atticus’ actions are the product of his pride preventing him from refusing to take on the case of Tom Robinson even though it was socially frowned upon by everyone in the town of Maycomb, including the judiciary committee, making the case extremely hard to win.