What Does Scout Learn In To Kill A Mockingbird

1275 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Atticus finch role model in book

As Billy Graham said, "Racism and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" the setting takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the point of view is through the eyes of Scout, who is still very young but unusually intelligent because of her surroundings. Scout had learned about her father Atticus and his trial of defending an innocent black in a discriminated county. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus influences Scout throughout the story because scout has been taught to not have any discrimination or a feeling of superiority over colored people, Scout learns life lessons to keep calm and believe what is right, the ability to not quickly judge people and try to understand how they feel. Scout has been taught not to have any sort of discrimination or a feeling of race superiority over the colored people. Atticus has said on page 144, "nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything-like snot-nose. It's hard to explain-ignorant trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves." Scout had …show more content…

Looking down on others where some people think others are inferior, brand the people who associate themselves with the inferior people a term or name, which should mean nothing in reality. Atticus also says on page 295, "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” Atticus firmly

Show More
Related

  • Bob Ewell Prejudice

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Atticus) chapter 23.

    Read More

  • Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.

    Read More

  • Atticus the Hero in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    Atticus wants his children to ignore what everybody thinks of him when defending a negro. During a conversation between Jem and Atticus, tells Jem,” As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, whenever a white man does that to a black man, that white man is trash.” (223). At the court Atticus is sure that he will lose but wants to make a statement to this racist society. He wants this county to treat black people just how they treat white people....

    Read More

  • Boo Radley Inequality Quotes

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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, 33) What Atticus means in this quote, is a lot like the quote “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It means you shouldn’t judge anyone by the way they look. You have to get to know them first. * “Imagine you’re playing a game of monopoly. The money is handed out. The player on your right gets double your a mount and the player to your left gets triple your amount. There is also a change of rules. Instead of collecting two hundred dollars when you pass go like the other players, you

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Quotes

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudiced society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, it uses characterization to help show a theme of loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.

    Read More

  • Scout's Learning Experiences Depicted in To Kill A Mockingbird

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 (321). In Harper Lee’s fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she illustrates the harsh reality that exists when ignorance interferes with justice. Set in a small Southern town during the 1930’s, Atticus Finch chooses to defend a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman. The town’s representation of Tom Robinson is mirrored by Atticus’s children, Jem and Scout, and their treatment of the town recluse Boo Radley. Scout learns that everyone deserves to be treated with equality, no matter what color skin they have or what social class they belong to.

    Read More

  • Archetype In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is a very important trait to realize because many people are not kind to everyone because of differing religious, social, or racial backgrounds. Throughout the entire book, Atticus demonstrates this trait to everyone. One instance is where he teaches his children a lesson to love everybody no matter the color of their skin. Scout asks him, “You aren't really a n*****-lover, then, are you?"(144). To which he replies, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody”(144). Moreover, Atticus leads by example and teaches his children about accepting others. He tells Scout and Jem, “N*****-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything—like snot-nose. It’s hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label

    Read More

  • Racism in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    Atticus's battle for justice causes more problems for Scout. She is continually defending him but the racist remarks do not stop. These remarks just show how cruel children can be to other children. She feels the need to defend her father to Francis, her cousin. He was also taunting her with accusations: "At a safe distance her called, `He's nothin' but a nigger-lover'." The benign force of racism has disrupted their lives, especially Scouts, through the old fashioned and discriminative opinions of the younger residents of Maycomb.

    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

  • Atticus Defending A Negro

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    Scout is confused why Atticus wants to continue with the case even though he knows he going to lose and he responds with, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”(76) He has a positive attitude and remains cautious of the example he’s setting for Scout to never give up. His statement is saying even if you are at a disadvantage and have been beaten down, you should still never give up. Stating that he thinks he’s going to lose shows that he is not concerned about how others view him because although most people would be embarrassed of losing, he sees it as an opportunity to try his hardest. Scout gets very upset when Aunt Alexandra makes a negative remark on how she is dressed, “She hurt my feelings and set my teeth permanently on edge, but when I asked Atticus about it, he said there were already enough sunbeams in the family and to go on about my business, he didn't mind me much the way I was.” (81). Scout is often made fun of because she does not act like a stereotypical girl and it is clearly a sensitive area for her, as she describes it as “setting her teeth permanently on

    Read More

  • Scout's Confusion In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator is also the main character, Jean Louise Finch or Scout, However, the narrator show’s two points of view of when she was little to when she was narrating. For this reason, she switches from narrating to the main character so you can understand what the character is going through. Also, she switches back to narrating when she starts explaining the situation more. Harper Lee created this point of view so you can get a greater understanding of how Scout felt during the events in her life to confusion to how she was struggling. In any case, this helps us see scouts character clearer by showing us her confusion, emotions, and understanding of when she was young since she didn’t understand much.

    Read More

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The Many Faces of Evil

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dispersed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Lee 108) are common throughout the entire novel. The use of racist statements such as these seemed to bother many people who were then driven to ban Lee's book from their schools. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can understand the use of the word "nigger." During the early twentieth century, the word "nigger" was used as commonly as many people today use the word "black."  The general public either didn't realize or didn't care about how demeaning the word "nigger" was. Eventually, some African-Americans became so used to hearing it that they no longer paid any attention to it. Atticus Finch, Scout's father, however, had a different way of thinking. Although Atticus was Caucasian, he realized that the word "nigger" was wrong to say. He did not use that word and he instructed his children not to use that word either. This courtesy did not catch on. People continued to refer to African-Americans as "niggers" and called anyone who was kind to "niggers" a "nigger-lover." Scout realized this and, as she matured, she came to understand how wrong the use of the word "nigger" actually was.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    I guess 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). This quote is ironic because Atticus is one of the best parents in Maycomb, yet his own family thinks otherwise. Atticus relates to Dolphus Raymond in which they are both good people, but people think of them as the opposite of good people. Today, it is normal in our humanity for people to be

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    “To Kill a Mocking Bird” was published in 1960, and was written by Harper Lee, and is set in an imaginary district in Southern Alabama, named Maycomb County. The tale is recounted by Jean Louise Finch (Scout), as she tells us the story of her childhood, her family and some of the on going issues during the Great Depression. However, it is clearly seen that as a child, Scout fails to see the importance, and controversy of the current social issues happening at the time, and the fact that she is able to reflect on her past while telling the story, explains to us how she has changed and matured over the years. As evident in the novel, there are many moral and ethical considerations taken into account, as discrimination and racial attacks are directed towards the black population within society during this period of time. Other issues also revolved around Scout, whilst she learned about the importance of family and her

    Read More

  • Who Is Tom Robinson Innocent In To Kill A Mockingbird

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird a world famous story written by Harper Lee, tells a story about two children that grew up in a small southern town called Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. Two of the main characters Scout and her older brother Jem learn about how the world actually works. They learn that not everything is fair and that there is nothing you can do to change it. And they learn that the older you get, you start to see the world as a hateful and evil place. And sometimes the innocent person is the one that has to pay for the wrongdoings of others.

    Read More

More about What Does Scout Learn In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document