How Scout Develops from a Tomboy to a Young Lady in To Kill a Mockingbird

830 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The racism in killing a mockingbird

How Scout Develops from a Tomboy to a Young Lady in To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout is an intelligent, perceptive child and her observations often contain a sensitive awareness to the situation. This might be because she is only six years old or it may be because she is a born lady. In every part of the novel one would see Scout's perspective on the world. As each situation matures and becomes more serious, Scout becomes one step closer to womanhood and maturity. As a child, Scouts appearance seems rough and because of this some people tried to change her, such has Aunt Alexandra and the Missionary Ladies but as the book quotes itself Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up peoples gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. (Lee, 90) It is also a sin to try and change a tomboy into something she is not. Scout's experiences during the course of the novel, directly contribute to her growth of a young lady.

Scout is six years old when the novel begins; she lives with her father, Atticus and brother, Jem. In her house the only woman role modal that she can look up to is Calpurnia, the Negro cook and housekeeper who has helped Atticus raise Scout and Jem. Scout grew up with fishing, playing football and many other "not so ladylike" outdoor activities. She did not grow up with the proper values as she would if her mother was alive, who died when Scout was very little. Scout's biggest influence in her life is her brother, Jem. The main reason being that is because he is a conscientious older brother and tries to protect her from the truths about the world that he thinks she is too young to deal wi...

... middle of paper ...

...ad killed himself by falling on the knife. In other words, she would have to understand that sometimes, things are better when they are left unsaid.

From the beginning to the end of the novel we see a lot of changes in Scout as she grows up. In every situation that Scout had to deal with made her understand that life isn't always about running past Mrs. Dubose's house and finding treasures in a knothole, but it is about dealing with racism, hatred and a lot of tough stuff. For Scout, growing up in the town of Maycomb made her a stronger person not only physically, but emotionally as well. She matured into a lady and as she reflects on her life, she realizes that without the people around her and without the events that happened. She wouldn't be the person, or in this case the lady that she has become today.

Bibliography:

To Kill A Mockingbird

Show More
Related

  • Scouts Journey in Harper Lee´s To Kill a Mockingbird

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch tries to please her father, but living with no mother it’s hard to know how to act. It’s natural to follow Jem, her brother, when that is her only friend through out the years. Imagine hearing gossip about your father from friends, neighbors, and even your own cousin. Scout had to push through all of the gossip and believe in her father. Throughout the novel Scout shows how social she can be. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great novel that keeps you reading. Scout has a positive effect on events such as at the jail, she was the reason that the mob left. She also always curious so she is more mature than most kids her age. Through the journey of the trial she shows how hot-tempered, tomboyish, and mature she can be.

    Read More

  • Stereotyped Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout Finch, the main character of the book, is a nine-year-old girl who is the narrator of the story. Scout’s Aunt Alexandra stereotypes Scout in the book many times. She says that Scout was born un-ladylike and that she could never be a lady because of the way she dresses. This point is proven when Scout says, "I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said […] that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year" (Lee 81). Also, Scout’s br...

    Read More

  • Social Forces Affecting Scout Finch

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...innocence. In some sense, because of her age, Scout’s perceiving of happenings in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are more accurate, ethically speaking. Scout is reluctant to being very feminine because she wants to grow up on her own terms. She sees being feminine as a trap, and she doesn't understand that being masculine has just as many rules. When looking deep into Scout’s character traits, she has lots of morals lessons that she teaches in a roundabout way. She shows that you should not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in no matter your age, gender, or the family that you were raised in. Also, she teaches a lesson continually throughout the story that you can never be able to please everyone and sometimes you have to try very hard to stay true to yourself. The character of Scout has many lessons embedded into her actions if looked deep enough into.

    Read More

  • Essay On Scout In To Kill A Mockingbird

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    To start, Scout isn’t able to see things from other people's points of view when she invites Walter Cunningham over for lunch on her first day of school and he pours molasses syrup all over his lunch. She isn’t able to realize that other people do things differently than she does. When she asks why he is doing this, Calpurnia scolds her for asking and tells her that some people just do things things differently. Since she is developing, she is able to realize that Boo Radley is actually a nice, caring person instead of a crazy, squirrel eating, monster. She realizes this when Miss Maudie’s house catches on fire and someone puts a blanket around her while she is standing outside. She realizes that it was Boo Radley is actually a caring person. This shows she is developing because she can discover things about other people instead of just sticking to her first impression of someone. Finally, Scout shows she can see things from other people’s perspectives when she walks Boo Radley home and stands on his porch and watches the last two years play out from his perspective. She is also showing that she changed when she is sad that she never put anything back in the knothole in the tree to give back to Boo. To finish, she has changed by being able to see things how other people see them. She shows she changes when she doesn’t understand why Walter Cunningham

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    At such a young age, Scout still has a sort of innocence that any reader will find entertaining and emotional at times. There are many scenarios when Scout seems like just a little girl that we can’t help loving. One instance is when a mob of men gathers at the jailhouse where Atticus is guarding Tom Robinson. Scout and Jem sneak out of the house and they run up to Atticus while the men are still talking to him. Sometime during the whole confrontation, Scout recognizes one of the men and makes a personal connection with him. “ ‘Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment gettin’ along?’... He seemed uncomfortable; he cleared his throat and looked away. My friendly overture had fallen flat… ‘Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?’... Atticus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about… ,when I slowly awoke to the fact that I was addressing the entire aggregation. The men were all looking at me, some had their mouths half-open,” (Lee, 153-154). Scout’s innocent but exciting personality shines through in every aspect of her life. She truly is a unique

    Read More

  • Atticus Finch Moral Development

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Scout is a young girl growing up in the south, she is intelligent, thoughtful, and good natured. Her identity is somewhat uncommon during the time she lives in. She is characterized as a tomboy, who doesn’t always act “lady like” or proper by southern standards. Scout most likely became the type of person she is by the care of her father, Atticus. He shapes her mind, while trying to protect her from a dangerous world and preserving her childhood.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Gender Quotes

    1981 Words  | 4 Pages

    While the women in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird come in a variety of personalities and backgrounds, all of their lives are led by one constricting factor; their gender. Scout's upbringing as a young woman greatly contrasts that of her brother Jem. Jem is educated as a young boy growing into a man while Scout’s journey is taken as a woman. The manacle of womanhood is but a concept if one does not consider the harsh faults and inhibiting limits of men or rather the struggle for “masculinity” that men are similarly constrained. Though she is repeatedly told to have ladylike manners and to dress in more feminine way, Scout mostly denies this norm but is still able to become a young

    Read More

  • Scout Is A Hero In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main section of Scout’s heroic acts is when she walks Arthur Radley home. This is a major part in the novel because prior to this Maycomb thought Arthur was a freak and a Murderer. For Scout to have the courage to befriend Radley is a massive step in the right direction. In this scene Scout risked a couple of things which proves her heroism. She risked her reputation which is the big one. Because she walked ‘Boo’ home, there was no doubt that she was being judged by the people of Maycomb. Throughout the novel we see Scout’s character change from a feisty, aggressive and judgy girl to a kind, open minded, less aggressive girl. There are numerous people and some experiences that took part in Scout’s change. But there is one lady that did Scout a whole lot of good, her name is Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a coloured woman and she is the Finch’s housekeeper. Throughout the novel there are different examples where Calpurnia has picked up on Scout’s behaviour at school or just in the town. This i first brought to the reader's attention when Calpurnia lectures Scout on the way she treats Mr. Cunningham jr. Scout would pick on his eating habits and she even got in a fight with him at school. Swiftly afterwards Calpurnia pulls Scout into the kitchen and gives her a stern talking to. During the narrative through

    Read More

  • prejudice in to kill a mockingbird

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender - At the time the novel is set, women were still regarded as unequal to men. Scout learns this from:

    Read More

  • Scout´s Change in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    602 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the book, Scout was not a nice child. She had hard times controlling herself, and usually she was not able to. She knew Atticus wouldn't like it if he heard of her fighting, but still she fought a lot, like the time she got angry to Cecil Jacobs and fought him (pg. 99). She was also mean and rude, which can easily be seen as she got angry and protested it when Walter poured syrup all over his dinner (pg. 32). As she was young, she also was not able to look at things from other people's perspective. This could easily be seen in her first day of school, as she only saw things from her point of view, never caring about her teacher's perspective (pg. 26). Her youth also ...

    Read More

  • Growth and Maturity in To Kill a Mockingbird

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...st in school by learning about Hitler and the horrible historical events that have happened in the world. Her maturity is expressed by what she has learned about the world around her and can apply those things to her every day life. Moreover, Scout has matured greatly in the novel and she has learned many lessons about life, family, and womanhood.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird - Changes in the Characters Thought the Novel

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a growing young girl, Scout was learning and experiencing things just like any other child would though growing up. She got older and was able to understand things a lot better as well as being able to apply lessons she had learned in her everyday life. She began to act slightly more grown up in situations such as Aunt Alexandria's dinner party. Scout forgot how much she despised her Aunt and how much she disliked dresses and joined the group of women in their conversations. Despite how she didn't want to "act more like a lady", she played along with her Aunt's "campaign to teach me (Scout) to be a lady" made an exception to please her Aunt and to create some peace between them. Upon hearing the news of Tom's death she concludes "if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I." This shows how Scout was beginning to act more ladylike for her Aunt.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Perspective In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    A very important and evident reason for her difference on perspective on life is her age. At the beginning of the book, Scout is aged 6, and even by the end, she is still only 9 years old. This gives her a different viewpoint on life because she sees things only as being fair, and not as laws. What is important to her is having the right thing done, instead of what is expected in society. The way that Scout is looked at within the novel simply because she is young is quite undermining to her, especially when her teacher, Miss Caroline, tells her “[you] tell him I 'll take over from her and try to undo the damage--Your father does not know how to teach." (Lee, ?) What Miss Caroline is referring to here is the fact that Scout is too young by some peoples’ definition to be so advanced at her age, and that she must become more like someone in every-day society. To go along with Scout’s viewpoint and the viewpoint others have on her because of her age, her harshness of judgement is much less harsh than most people’s would be. She judges people much less, like Tom Robinson, and in her mind everybody is equal. After Tom Robinson has been convicted of rape in his trial, Atticus says “it’s not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are

    Read More

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Pain of Growing Up

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout is the narrator of the whole book. She is the young daughter of a lawyer, Atticus. They live in Maycomb County with Scout's brother and Aunt in the 1930's. At the beginning of the book, she doesn’t know much about the prejudice of Southern America. She basically knows nothing about prejudice. She thinks every person is the same as her. But she finds that out at last. She also finally finds out that most people are nice. She just has to put herself in those people's situations. "As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly algebra" (Lee pg. #).  This statement shows that she understands the prejudice and people's thinking, at last. That makes her life a lot different.

    Read More

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.

    Read More

More about How Scout Develops from a Tomboy to a Young Lady in To Kill a Mockingbird

Open Document