Scout's Experience In To Kill A Mockingbird

Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a novel set in the United States during the 1930's. This novel deals with the hardships of growing up, among other important themes. Scout, the main character in the book, underwent many challenges during her early life that resulted in her maturing at a young age. Scout learned the meaning of racism, courage, and tolerance (comprehension).

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses unhypocritical, more experienced characters like Atticus to expose Jem and Scout to adult knowledge. Their adult influence is what brings about the empathetic growth and maturity of Jem and Scout.

In “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is about a six year old girl named Scout. She lives in Maycomb, Alabama. In the story it talks about her life problems she has with her friends, family, and community around her. She is constantly reminded of hate and racism towards others. Scouts intelligence, curiosity and exposure to mature events, leads to the loss of her innocence.

“She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (page 272). It is easy to interpret this character as a villian in To Kill a Mockingbird, but is she honestly a victim? This girl has grown up in poverty, has been beaten, and has had to take care of an entire household. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to change that. She lives a painful lifestyle, and that lifestyle has transformed her into the person she will always be. Mayella Violet Ewell’s important character attributes, mistreated, skeptical, and melodramatic, have forged her into the villain that most people see.

When her first day of school ends, Scout talks to her father about quitting it. She argues with Atticus, saying “-listen Atticus, I don’t have to go to school!” (Lee 33). She feels that she does not need it as she already knows how to read and write. But her father advises her that staying in school would be beneficial for her. She ends up listening to Atticus and stays in school. This proves the Scout takes her father's advice and ends up staying in school . After a couple of school days went by, Scout runs into another dilemma. A student by the name of Cecil Jacobs starts making fun of Scout because her dad is presently defending a black person in court rather than defending the white person. At this time white people were superior compared to blacks. When Scout tells her father she wants to fight him, he tells her to not fight anyone and ignore children who make fun of her because of him. She listens to her father and turns her back on people who did make fun of her for it. The author shows Scout’s maturity as she gains enough courage to tell her father about the situation instead of taking matters into her own hands. Also, she feels that her father would be disappointed if she did not listen to him. This shows us that she is developing concern for the negative actions she is tempted to do. As the novel progresses, Atticus teaches Scout about people's perspectives. He tells

How would the novel be different if it were narrated from a different character’s perspective? Jem? Atticus? Calpurnia? Boo? What benefit does a child narrator provide?

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience,” (Lee 120). This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird is a good representation of the book. The book is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, narrates the story of herself and her family facing the racial prejudices of the time. When her father Atticus, defends an innocent black man in a rape trial, Maycomb turns on Scout's family. Atticus, Scout, and her brother Jem stand up for what they believe in even if their neighbors disagree. By analyzing Harper Lee’s use of symbolism and tone, the reader can learn that courage isn’t physical strength, you gain morals as you grow, and prejudice kills innocence.

Atticus teaches her this lesson when he says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it”( Lee, 39). Atticus tells her this because when she returns from school she shows that she dislikes her teacher, Miss Caroline, for making a mistake and realizes that all of her misfortunes could have been prevented if she simply put herself in Miss Caroline’s shoes. However, Scout does not fully understand this lesson at this point of the story. In the novel, Scout sees situations where others try to see from a different perspective and an example would be when Jem, her brother, tries to understand why Boo Radley stays inside and comes to the conclusion that Boo stays inside to keep away from the hypocrisy and prejudice in society (Lee, 304). Atticus continually shows Jem and Scout to think about how others see and interpret situations. As Scout sees others use this technique of climbing into other’s skin she starts to understand the concept better. Scout fully understands the lesson at the end of the novel when she says, “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” (Lee, 374). In that moment Scout is finally able to understand why Boo

Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression a young lady, Mayella Ewell blamed a black man, Tom Robinson of something incredibly despicable that turned Maycomb upside down. Mayella took advantage of the laws back then so that she could end the aggression her father gave her. Mayella is powerful due to the fact that she is white, her family is the poorest family out there, but because of her color she will always be preferred over African-Americans. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee uses class, race, and gender to determine if Mayella has power after all.

Children may be the path to better comprehending society. Having no inherent sense of evil, they may not truly understand bias or discrimination until they have matured. In To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, three young children in the modest southern of Maycomb are forced to witness people at their worst at an unspeakable time in American history. Maycomb’s orderly community is greatly disturbed for the better when Dill Harris, Jem Finch, and Scout Finch create chaos and instill change because of their childhood innocence.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, many themes are conveyed throughout the book, including the lessons of childhood. As Scout and Jem grow up, Atticus attempts to teach them proper morals and values. They become very aware of their surroundings and try their best to do the right thing.

The character Atticus impacts the story and many people throughout the book “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee. However, does Atticus change much throughout the story? Do the events that occur throughout the story that change Jem and Scout’s views of many thing even affect Atticus? Atticus knew that Maycomb would disrespect Tom Robinson. He knew that in the court Tom Robinson would get a lot of hate. Since Atticus does not change much throughout the story, what does he represent and symbolize, and how does he affect others. Atticus is an educated and respected southern gentleman, whose traits continuously take people by shock.

Scout also learned lessons from her african american nanny Calpurnia, scout was a real tough girl that acted like she wasn't afraid of anything. She felt that one of her classmates, Walter Cunningham has embarrassed her in front of her new teacher, miss.caroline, ms.caroline wasn't from Maycomb so she didn't understand when scout was referring that walter was a cunningham he can't really pay for anything because he doesn't have that much money, and walters dad always tells him “dont get what you can give

As people grow up, their views change immensely, and reality overtakes their fantasies. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses her character Scout’s changing attitudes towards other characters to demonstrate this. Throughout the story, Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor of Scout’s, is constantly being misjudged by the people of the town. As a consequence of this and Scout’s young age, she believes the rumors about him that are spread, and even puts her own twist on some of them; albeit with the help of Jem and Dill. However, as the story progresses and her character changes, Lee substantiates this with Scout’s changing opinion on Boo Radley. By the end of the story, Scout matures, and so does her view of Boo.