Mr. Avery, a neighbor who's not exactly popular with the children. Although Mr. Avery may look a little like a snowman, it's still pretty insulting of the children to make one in his image.

When Atticus comes home, he admires Jem's engineering skills at putting together the snowman. But he's none too pleased that the snowman is a rather insulting caricature of Mr. Avery. Ever the lawyer, Atticus pronounces the snowman "a near libel." More importantly, as a father, he wants the children to understand that they should treat other people as they would like to be treated. After all, they wouldn't be too pleased if someone made a snowman to look like them.

The golden rule says that people should treat others in the way that they would want to be treated.  Atticus often teaches his children the golden rule by telling them to walk in other people's shoes.  He wants Scout and Jem to learn empathy.

In chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie's house burns down on a cold winter night.  Neighbors and residents of Maycomb pour in to help put out the fire.  As Scout and Jem stand outside watching from a distance, they witness the people of Maycomb treating Miss Maudie in the way that they would want to be treated.  Everyone is working hard to help rescue furniture from her house and to put out the fire, despite the bitter cold and the darkness of night:

The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie's house to a yard across the street.  I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie's heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most.

Later, Scout finds out that Boo Radley had covered her with a blanket on the cold evening as they waited outside.  Boo Radley treated her with kindness, just as he would want to be treated.

The Golden Rule is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In Chapter 8, there are several instances where characters demonstrate The Golden Rule by treating others the way they would want to be treated. When Maudie's house is on fire, the neighbors all demonstrate selflessness and altruism by helping remove Maudie's furniture before her house collapses in flames. Concerned citizens risk their lives by entering the burning home in order to help Miss Maudie. While the men help remove furniture from the burning home, Jem and Scout watch at a distance from the Radley yard. Scout is freezing in the cold weather, and Boo Radley displays his kindness by leaving the comforts of his home to put a blanket over her shoulders. Boo Radley's actions show that he cares about Scout's well-being and demonstrates The Golden Rule.

This is the chapter where something unusual happens. There is snow in Maycomb. When this happens, Scout and Jem, understandably are excited and they begin to make a snowman. As they do, the snowman begins to look like Mr. Avery, a neighbor that the children are not very fond of. When Atticus comes home, he orders Jem to disguise the snowman, because the children are mocking Mr. Avery. In other words, they have broken the golden rule. Here is what Atticus says:

“I don’t care what you do, so long as you do something,” said Atticus. “You can’t go around making caricatures of the neighbors.”

Chapter 11 in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is an excellent example of the Golden Rule, to treat others as you want to be treated.

In chapter 11, the children's relationship with their neighbor Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is explained. Mrs. Dubose is quite racist and often yells mean things at Scout and Jem when they walk by her house. She also believes strongly in the Confederate government and is believed to keep a pistol hidden in her shawl whenever she sits on her porch.

Despite the racist comments and yelling that Mrs. Dubose uses as her greeting to the Finch family each time they walk by her house, Atticus Finch teaches his children to treat her with respect because she is "just a sick, old lady." Atticus always tips his hat to Mrs. Dubose and wishes her a good day, even after she calls him horrible names and even though their opinions on most topics are very different. Atticus believes so strongly in the importance of treating others how he would want to be treated that he requires Jem to spend time reading to Mrs. Dubose.

Atticus understands the importance of kindness in a world full of so much hatred, and he encourages his children to live by the Golden Rule as well.

The golden rule states that one should do unto others as you would be done by. In other words, you should treat other people the way you would want to be treated by them.

Numerous examples of the golden rule abound in To Kill a Mockingbird. One such example comes in chapter 8 when Scout and Jem are taking advantage of some rare snowfall to make a snowman. It won't be just any snowman; it'll be a rather unflattering representation of Mr. Avery, a neighbor who's not particularly popular with the Finch children. (But then, not many of them are.)

When Atticus comes home after a hard day's work, he's none too pleased with what his children have been up to. Although he admires their skills in putting together the snowman, he doesn't think much of their insulting caricature of Mr. Avery. In fact, Atticus, ever the lawyer, describes it as a "near libel."

As a father, he also involves the golden rule. In building such an insulting snowman, the children have not treated someone else—in this case Mr. Avery—the way they would want to be treated. After all, they wouldn't like it if someone built a snowman that looked like them, now would they?

Probably the most stark example of the Golden Rule is Atticus' actions on behalf of Tom Robinson. 

In Chapter 9, Atticus explains to Scout his reasons for defending Tom Robinson in court. He tells her that he is compelled to defend an innocent man, no matter the color of his skin. On her part, Scout is curious as to why her father would sully his reputation for Tom's sake. 

In the conversation, Atticus implies that Tom's racial heritage is immaterial:

"If you shouldn’t be defendin‘ him, then why are you doin’ it?" “For a number of reasons,” said Atticus. “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”

Essentially, Atticus argues that his conscience compels him to act on Tom's behalf. Atticus' conviction regarding the Golden Rule stems from his entrenched faith in equality. Atticus is adamant that Tom gets the same due process a white man would receive.

Another example of the Golden Rule can be found in Chapter 14. In this chapter, Scout asks Atticus for permission to visit Calpurnia in her home. Before Atticus can answer, Aunt Alexandra expressly forbids Scout from going. Frustrated by Aunt Alexandra's intransigence, Scout blurts out a sassy "I didn't ask you!"

Aunt Alexandra portrays Scout's behavior in a negative light in order to manipulate Atticus into firing Calpurnia, but Atticus refuses to take the bait.

“Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are."

Atticus's answer again demonstrates his belief in the Golden Rule. He will not bow to pressure from Aunt Alexandra to disavow Calpurnia simply because of her entrenched prejudices. In the novel, Atticus passes his belief in the Golden Rule to Scout and Jem. Towards the end of the story, Scout embodies the Golden Rule perfectly when she guides a shy Boo Radley to Jem's bedside, and later, when she escorts him home.

There are several scenes throughout the novel where Calpurnia teaches and exercises the Golden Rule, which is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

In Chapter 3, Jem invites Walter Cunningham Jr. over for dinner. When Walter pours syrup all over his plate, Scout asks him what the "sam hill" he is doing. Scout embarrasses and criticizes Walter for his unmannerly eating habits. Calpurnia immediately requests Scout's presence in the kitchen and chastises Scout for her behavior. Cal says, "There’s some folks who don’t eat like us...but you ain’t called on to contradict ’em at the table when they don’t" (Lee 17). Cal also says,

"Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunninghams but it don’t count for nothin’ the way you’re disgracin’ ’em" (Lee 17).

Calpurnia is essentially referencing the Golden Rule by telling Scout to treat Walter Cunningham respectfully which is the way Scout would like to be treated. Also, in Chapter 12, Calpurnia takes the children to First Purchase African M.E. for Sunday service. The children notice that Cal speaks differently around her community members than she does around the home. When Scout asks Cal why she talks incorrectly, Cal says,

“It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike—in the second place, folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em" (Lee 78).

Again, Calpurnia references the Golden Rule by taking into consideration the thoughts and feelings of her community members.

The Golden Rule teaches that we should "do unto others as [we] would have them do unto [us]," which means that we should treat others in the exact same way we would want to be treated ourselves ("The Golden Rule," Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). It takes a great deal of kindness, compassion, and understanding to be able to follow the Golden Rule. We cannot follow it if we allow ourselves to judge others based on prejudices because, in seeing people through prejudiced eyes, we treat them unfairly. Only the kind and compassionate person is able to see another person without prejudice, thereby being able to clearly see the person's wants, needs, and even motives for actions. In clearly seeing the wants, needs, and motives of another person, we are able to act in ways that benefit rather than harm the person and thereby act based on the Golden Rule. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is characterized as the type of kind, compassionate, unprejudiced person who follows the Golden Rule by acting in ways that strive to benefit others.

One clear moment in which Atticus expresses his belief in the Golden Rule is after Scout's first day of school. Scout is very disappointed with her first day because she has been forbidden to read and write and got into trouble. Atticus explains that she wouldn't have gotten into trouble if she had only been able to see the situation from Miss Caroline's perspective:

First of all, ... if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-- ... --until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. (Ch. 3)

Atticus's lesson to Scout is a mantra he lives by daily. Seeing things from others' perspectives is Atticus's way of following the Golden Rule because all people want their own perspectives understood, and only those who are able to feel compassion for others are truly able to see things from others' perspectives.

The term the Golden Rule refers to a commonly believed moral principle that stems from the following biblical verse: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matt. 7:12). The principle can be interpreted to mean that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. There are certainly a couple of different moments in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird when Dill acts based upon the Golden Rule.

One moment when Dill acts in accordance with the Golden Rule is found in Chapter 6. In this chapter, Dill and Jem decide to try and sneak on to the Radleys' property to try and get a glimpse of Arthur (Boo) Radley through a window. When shots ring out, the children flee for their lives. During the escape process, Jem gets his pants caught on a barbed-wire fence and must abandon them to escape. When the children reach the Finches' front yard, they see that all their neighbors have gathered around Nathan Radley, Arthur's brother, in front of the Radley gate to discuss what had happened. Jem argues that it will look suspicious if the children don't join their neighbors to see what all of the commotion was, so Jem arrives sans pants. When Miss Stephanie notices his lack of pants, the kids know they must do some fast thinking to prevent Atticus from finding out what they had been up to. Dill, always the quickest thinker, is the first one to come up with an excuse to offer, as we see when he explains the following to Atticus:

Ah--I won 'em from him. ... We were playin' strip poker up yonder by the fishpool. (Ch. 6)

In taking the initiative to save Jem's neck, Dill is demonstrating that he is treating Jem in the same way Dill wishes to be treated, and Dill gets his wish. When it looks like Dill will be in trouble with his Aunt Rachel for playing strip poker, Atticus is able to talk her out of her tirade, saying it's a phase all children go through and not a big deal.

The second moment Dill demonstrates he is a firm believer in the Golden Rule is when he breaks out into sobs during Tom Robinson's trial and must be escorted out of the courtroom by Scout. Dill explains his reasons for crying to Scout in the following:

It was just him I couldn't stand. ... That old Mr. Gilmer doin' him thataway, talking so hateful to him-- (Ch. 19)

In other words, Dill didn't fail to notice just how antagonistically Mr. Gilmer, the prosecuting attorney, was speaking to Robinson during Mr. Gilmer's cross-examination of Robinson, and it made Dill feel sick inside. Dill's feelings and reaction clearly stem from the fact that he firmly believes in adhering to the Golden Rule, as he demonstrates when he further says the following to Scout:

It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that--it just makes me sick. (Ch. 19)

Since Dill demonstrates he firmly believes all people deserve the same amount of respect, he further demonstrates that he believes in adhering to the Golden Rule.