To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: Character Analysis

“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.” Atticus was explaining to Scout that you have to be open to their view on things, whether it is about segregation in Tom’s case or about personal choices like Boo Radley’s. Because Scout has showed maturity,

Jem and Scout, throughout “To Kill A Mockingbird,” learn to consider things from other people’s perspectives. Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, says “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” (Lee 39). They learn this through experiences with their neighbor Boo Radley as they mature beyond their years. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout make fun of Boo and assume that all of the rumors going around about him are true. However, later on in the story the children grow an admiration for Boo and learn to understand him. As they matured, Jem and Scout naturally learned many life lessons of appreciation, respect, and courage

If someone asked you to put yourself and your career on the line, would you? Even if you knew that your reputation would be ruined? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee a lawyer named Atticus Finch is asked to defend a negro man: Tom Robinson. It's the early 1930s and The Great Depression is in full swing. Atticus Finch, a middle aged lawyer agrees to take on the case of a black man who has been accused of a rape against a white women, despite knowing the fact that it's taboo.

Scout has a troublesome day at school, filled with bossy teachers and people who did not know what they are doing. As Atticus said to Scout,”- 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.”

In the novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, learning to “walk about in someone’s skin” is a main theme, particularly as two of the main protagonists Jem and Scout learn to do this as they grow up throughout the book along with the reader. Atticus, the children’s father, educates the children on how to treat and comprehend other people. As Jem and Scout grow older in the novel, they begin to understand this lesson and act upon it both knowingly and sub-consciously.

In the first part of the book Scout returns home complaining about her new teacher, Miss Caroline, not knowing how to act in Maycomb and getting in trouble with her. Learning Miss Caroline recently moved to Maycomb trying but struggling to adjust to Maycomb, Atticus tells her, “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”(39) It's an important and occurring quote showing what Atticus sees of people. It also connects to the real life, since there are many times in life a person did not understand what the other feels from their perspective which stirs trouble in the future. The book continues telling the reader this specific quote is barely applied by the town’s citizens showing the result as an huge problem still never fully learned from.

In the novel: To Kill a Mockingbird there are two children named Jem finch and Scout Finch. Throughout the novel these two kids are going through the neighborhood messing with the neighbors like Arthur Radley (Boo). Atticus is their father who tries to tell them not to bother Mr. Radley and tries to teach them that, “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.” This is very powerful quote because it impacts Scout and Jem because it helps them grow and mature as they get older.

Even though this was an almost impossible task for one man, Atticus thrived at the challenge. For example, during the intense trial that pushed the limits of racism in Maycomb, Alabama Atticus always showed his respect towards others. Although in Scouts mind it was not well deserved because there was an ample amount of evidence that should have cleared Tom’s name. But, Atticus stuck to his morals and repeatedly considered things from other people’s perspectives. As he expressed one day while talking to Scout, “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” (30). Scout and Jem both thought Atticus’ statement was correct. “Atticus was right. You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”. During the trial when Atticus would interrogate Mayella he always used the word Miss when referring to her. Even though this was an act of respect towards Mayella, she thought to it as an insult because she was an uneducated young southern woman. These lessons ended up being very useful to particularly Scout when she tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it so that she could see things from his point of

You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (30). Atticus says this to Scout because she doesn't want to go back to school. Miss. Caroline said Atticus taught her all the wrong ways. Scout uses Atticus's advice and climbs into Miss Caroline shoes to see a different viewpoint.

While Atticus was raising and teaching his children to empathize with Tom Robinson; a black man on trial for raping a woman, Boo Radley; who stabbed his father, and the Cunningham’s who are poor farmers, the readers learned to view the situation in the others point of view. Atticus is a man of righteousness and rapport, as a credible lawyer and honest human being he is able to put aside color, and social status to teach people how to understand one another. Atticus told Scout “...you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of you...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (30). This saying from Atticus is supposed to be a trick that she can remember before she gets into another fight with somebody at school because of a disagreement.

Scout later retells the events to Atticus. He then tells her: "First of all," he said, "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" (Lee

At first she thinks that it’s okay to make fun of others. One summer Scout and Jem meet Dill, their next door neighbor, and all three go and mock Boo Radley. Dill is fascinated by Boo and tries to convince the Finch children to help him lure this “malevolent phantom” (9) of Maycomb outside. Atticus teaches Scout that it is not right to make fun of other people who aren’t like you: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view –” (30). The quote represents the love of a father reaching out to his young daughter in an attempt to explain to her that it is wrong to be judgmental without knowing the person's particular circumstances. Atticus also uses the idiom, “-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (30) to emphasize that you really have to dive deep into a person’s life before you criticize them. After Scout absorbs what Atticus says, she learns to look at situations from a different perspective. She sees Boo Radley transforming from a nightmare into a human being, and her new understanding of him reflects her own

His many lessons and actions molded Scout into the individual she was at the end of the novel. He not only was an example as to how an individual should respect others, but his advice also enabled Scout to have a better insight into the actions of others. For example, one of the most important lessons that Atticus taught Scout was when he told her, “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” (39). What Atticus was telling Scout in this quote is not to judge others, and to put herself in their shoes, to see things from their perspective, before she judges their actions. Scout attempts to incorporate Atticus’ advice into her life, using it in many cases to understand others.

Despite the early introduction to this lesson, Scout doesn’t fully understand it, or at least learn it, until the very last chapter when she finally meets Boo Radley, and stands on his porch thinking about the compilation of events which make up the book, from Boo’s point of view, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” This shows the understanding Scout has finally had of the way people are perceived and the way they actually are. It shows that she has learnt what many

The first lesson, taught by Atticus, gave Scout a philosophy that is extremely relevant in all circumstances. The quote states, “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”. Contextually, Scout uses the wisdom, for example, “As Atticus had one advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it”. When she narrates this statement through her thoughts she has not fully understood the value of the quotes true meaning, yet. However, later in the book, Scout realizes the importance of the words of wisdom when she is on Boo Radley’s porch. In this specific context, she attains a fuller meaning, that Boo is a misunderstood and misrepresented man.