"I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year” (Lee 107). A novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was about civil rights and racism in America based in the 1930s. Scout Finch is a young curious girl who is very helpful and tries to inform others about information that she thinks that she knows. Her father, Atticus, is an attorney who tries to prove that this black man did not rape Miss Ewell. Scouts bravery is shown when someone tries to kill her and her brother Jem and she gets away. Scout is a thoughtful and courageous young girl whose compassion grows over time. Scout tries to be thoughtful and puts others first, “Aunt Alexandra looked across the room at me and smiled. She looked at a tray of cookies on the table and nodded at them. I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk to Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if …show more content…
I kicked the man swiftly. Barefooted, I was surprised to see him fall back in real pain. I intended to kick his shin, but aimed to high.” (Lee 204) Scout was protecting Jem from this man trying to hurt him. She kicked the man and ended up hurting her foot but she was more worried about her brother than worried about her foot. Scout had a lot of courage and strength to stand up to a grown man when she is only a young little girl. Scout keeps her promises to make herself and others proud, “Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked Jem and me to do something for him, I could take being called a coward for him. I felt extremely noble for having remembered, and remained noble for three weeks.” (Lee 102) Atticus made a pact with Scout that she would stop getting in fights. When Scout was being called names she remembered her pact and stood her ground. She was then very satisfied with herself once she stuck to her promise because she knew Atticus would be proud of
“‘He made me start off on the wrong foot. ’”(Harper Lee 30) was said by none other than Scout herself after she was told to stop beating up Walter Cunningham in chapter 3 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Scout is a character who has multiple personality traits. Some of those traits include being stubborn and aggressive, being curious about the world around her, and being racist, but in her own childish way. She represents these traits in the narration of the book and what she says to other people or the dialogue she has.
Not only is Scout a weak child in this scene but she is also shoeless and wearing a disabling ham costume. She describes the ham costume as a “wire prison” (Lee 351) which prevents her from running and causes her to fall. As a little girl stuck in this giant costume it is physically impossible for her to fight of a grown man and it makes Ewall seem even more evil. At a more metaphorical level this ham costume or “wire prison” represents childhood in the sense that your opinions are not heard and you cannot do anything on your own. Throughout the book Scout is “floundering to escape” (Lee 351) but is constantly being sheltered and ignored with people telling her “this is too old for you” (Lee 279) and things like that. In the end she and Jem were saved by Boo Radley and Bob’s drunkenness which kills him. Only those not being attacked could help the
To demonstrate, when Scout stated “Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked jem and me to do something for him, I could take being called a coward for him (Lee 88)”. This shows that Scout is taking Atticus’ request to heart and not wanting to embarrass him by fighting again. It also shows that Atticus messages and talks with scout about justice and judgment had gotten to her if she didn’t want to let him down by fighting another girl. To show sequence, For example, why Atticus is defending a man of colour, “You mean if you didn’t defend that man, Jem and me wouldn’t have to mind you anymore?” (Lee 86). The lessons that Atticus gives Scouts are essential to living in the “real world”, like respecting all races, and the fact that he’s defending a man of colour shows his children to treat people
Scout is willing to take the responsibility for things that mattered to her and to her family and that is a result of her courageous character. She simply wants to defend everyone fairly just like her father Atticus.
Barefooted, I was surprised to see him fall back in real pain. I intended to kick his shin, but aimed too high.”(Lee 54). This is when Jem was facing “real evil” according to Scout, he acted brave so before they had to be in danger he helped them escape. Jem is Really caring especially for Scout. “Don't you cry, now, Scout... don't cry now, don't you worry-" he muttered at me all the way to school.
What Atticus chose to do, and the approach he chose to raise his children, would result in a lot of criticism. One main way Scout showed courage was when she continued to learn how to read and write at home with her dad, even though her teacher made her feel guilty for it. She was able to show bravery and choose to go against what her teacher told her because she believed in what she was learning. It was Scout’s first day of school and she was being scolded by her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, about being able to read at such a young age, “Now you tell her not to teach you anymore.
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
When Atticus is talking to Scout about her fighting at school, he explains to her that fighting isn't always the solution for something, and that it's better to fight with her head instead of acting impulsively. “No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change. it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.” (p.101).
Though naive most of the time, Scout is courageous when needed. “I broke away from Jem and ran as fast as I could to Atticus. Jem shrieked and tried to catch me, but I had a lead on him and Dill. I pushed my way through dark bodies and burst into the circle of light” (202 – 203). Causing Atticus much worry, again and again Scout hits situations head on.
Scout is really disappointed that she cannot read with her father anymore. Though when her father says they can read together, Scout gets excited again. This example shows how passionate Scout is about reading with her father at night. However, Scout is also a very short-tempered and an aggressive little girl. On the first day of school a boy named Walter Cunningham makes Scout start off on the wrong foot with her teacher. Scout takes action by rubbing Walter's nose in the dirt. Then when Jem comes by she says "He made me start off on the wrong foot."(pg 22) in a very angry voice. Without doubt one can see that Scout is a very short-tempered and an aggressive girl. Certainly, without doubt the reader can clearly see that Scout is a very brave (daring),passionate, short-tempered, and an aggressive six year old
Scout Finch, the main character in To Kill A Mockingbird, is a very brave person. She often stands up for what she thinks is right. For an example, a kid at school was making fun of her and Atticus because Atticus was defending an African American, so she fought him. However, when she home and told Atticus,
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel set in a fictional town in Georgia called Maycomb. The story follows a girl named Scout Finch & her brother Jem. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer who takes a controversial case defending an African American man named Tom Robinson. The children encounter racism & discrimination in many different ways, and it affects them in many ways. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, discrimination and segregation affects Scout and the other children by exposing them and desensitizing them to racism and presenting to them a social hierarchy, but also strengthening their senses of justice and morality.
After having bought Scout her baton and his steam engine, the two walk by Mrs. Dubose’s house. Angered by Mrs. Dubose’s insults towards Atticus, Jem destroyed her camellias with Scout’s baton. He later broke the baton in two and started putting his frustration out on Scout. This was the result of the conflict between Jem and Mrs. Dubose. During all of this, Scout was scared and confused by Jem’s actions and frustration. “He bent my baton against his knee, snapped it in two and threw it down, By that time I was shrieking.” (Lee 137). This event opened Scout’s eyes and realize that there’s always a bad side to anybody.
This is shown in the scene where Scout is being teased by Cecil Jacobs because Atticus is defending Tom, Scout states in this scene that "My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly" (Lee 74). Although Scout was tempted to fight Cecil she did not because she made a promise to Atticus that she would stop fighting. Scout 's actions throughout these scenes show how she is beginning to mature. Although Scout shows development in her maturity she is still lacking in it. This is seen all throughout the scene of her cousin Francis stating "If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain 't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I 'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family--" (Lee 83). Scouts loses all sense of her actions in this point in time and pounce on Francis but he just manages to escape her grasp and escape to the kitchen, so Scout sits on the steps and waits for him. A few moments later Aunt Alexandra comes in and asks what is going on, and Francis says that Scout is holding him hostage and says that she beat him up, but Scout shows a lot of maturity by owning up to her actions and not lying to Aunt Alexandra. Scout 's maturity has really started to develop as she is faced with the judgements of others during the Robinson case.
Scout’s personality begins as coarse; she wants to control with her fists and is easily provoked. However, through her interactions with those in her community, her personality becomes more refined. One example of her lack of self-control is shown when she gets into a fight with her cousin Francis. In her rage, she decided to take out her anger on him, “‘He is not!’ I roared. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking’ about, but you better cut it out this red hot minute!’I leaped off the steps and