Characters in a book not only tell the story, but teach the reader a lesson. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that exhibits racism and gives the readers a taste of what it was like in the 1930’s. One of the several major characters of this book is Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout. She matured greatly because of women characters such as Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, and her Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout teaches all readers the lesson of how it is important to have a motherly figure in your life; she does so through possessing the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot tempered.
The adult world is a cold and terrifying place. There are robberies, shootings, murders, suicides, and much more. If you were to be a small child, perhaps age 5, and you were to look in at this world, you would never know how bad it actually was, just from a single glance. Children have a small slice of ignorant bliss, which helps to keep them away from the harsh of reality. It isn’t until later, when they encounter something that opens their eyes and shows them, that they truly start to understand the world we live it. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird shows the many differences between the simplicity of being a kid and the tough decisions and problems that adults must face every day.
Scout is one of the central character’s in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout is a girl who slowly changes through the course of the book. Throughout the book, Lee describes the character of Scout as being tomboyish, innocent, and aggressive.
In her first school year, Scout has no respect for anyone different from her. An example of this is her treatment of Walter Cunningham, which is heedless at best and merciless at worst: after an explanation of Walter’s habits lands her in trouble with Miss Caroline, she finds him in the schoolyard later and attacks him. After Jem invites Walter to dinner, Scout shows scorn for Walter’s revived dignity, commenting, “By the time we reached our front steps Walter had forgotten he was a Cunningham.” (Lee, 23) She shows marked disapproval for the way he eats, and she decides to eat in the kitchen rather than join Walter and the others at the dinner table. However, as Scout gains experience and maturity, she begins to put aside her differences from others. She becomes friends with Walter, and she asks Aunt Alexandra if she can play with him. Aunt Alexandra appalls Scout with the same prejudice towards the Cunninghams that Scout held two years before: “Jean Louise will not invite Walter Cunningham to this house…Because--he--is--trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits an...
The kids were both bullied in school, the townsfolk that was against him defending a black man weren’t shy about sharing their feelings towards the Finches and most of all, Mr. Ewell attacked the kids. “He was out of his mind” (Lee 360). Atticus thought that Mr. Ewell cooled down after he spit in his face, but was clearly wrong when he went after Jem and Scout. The kids had a hard time in school and in town. Many people called them “nigger-lovers”, either behind their backs or in their faces. “ ‘Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers’ " (Lee 135). This was hard on Scout, who fought a lot, because she couldn’t fight back. Atticus may have put his family in danger but he did what was right and earned a high level of
The Finch children, Jem and Scout, suffered the most during this novel. Atticus’ profession led him to defend a black man for raping a white women. Not only was Atticus looked down on during this trial, but his children also endured a great deal of ridicule from their peers. Jem and Scout were constantly being called “nigger lovers” both in school, and throughout their town (Lee 85-86). Atticus tried to protect his children from the dangers of people in the community, but he couldn’t prevent them from being mocked in school. In a conversation between Scout and Atticus, Scout asks, “What exactly is a nigger lover?” (Lee 124). Atticus quickly realizes his children are also struggling because of his position he took by defending a colored man. During the course of the trial, Atticus exposed Mayella and Bob Ewell to the town's mockery, and Bob seeked revenge upon Jem and Scout. Boo Radley was the one who ended up saving their lives (Harper Lee Biography). Many times during the book, Jem and Scout were at risk due to a political position their father had
In the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there is a very unique character named Jean Louise Finch; otherwise known as Scout Finch. Throughout the story, Scout goes through many changes and she learns valuable life lessons. Scout learns about the history of her ancestors and about the place she calls home, along with the people in it. She learns what is right and what is wrong, and what she can and cannot do. In addition, Scout discovers who her Aunt wants her and doesn't want her to be. Her favorite pastime on a hot summer day is to spend time with her brother, Jem, and her young sweetheart Dill. Scout has many different personality traits; she is curious, helpful, courageous, and understanding. Most of all, Scout is adventurous and intelligent.
In To Kill A MockingBird, Harper Lee introduces the readers to the discriminating town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The town of Maycomb is small with little going on and everybody knows each other. When a horrifying trial takes place between an African American named Tom Robinson and a lower-class White man named Bob Ewell, the trial brings out the real thoughts of the people in Maycomb. With this trial going on, Jean “Scout” Louise Finch has to learn to mature like her older brother in order to understand her surroundings. Scout at all costs has to avert turning into a racist and judgemental person like the rest of the town has. Scout’s father, Atticus, is defending the African American in the case and gets ridiculed for it. She has
In the prize winning novel, To kill a Mockingbird, Harper lee recaps her life experiences as a six-year-old child from the standpoint of an adult. Jean Louis Finch, commonly referred to as "Scout," explains the different situations involving her father, who had been widowed, Atticus, and his legal defense, Tom Robinson. Robinson was a local African-American male who had been accused of raping a Caucasian female. In the three years surrounding the trial, Scout and her older brother, Jem, witness the unfair and unjust repercussions of prejudice and hate. Yet, at the same time, they observe the worth of courage and integrity through the example given to them
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character, Jean-Louise “Scout” Finch, retells some of her life’s stories. She goes through many experiences, much of them that a little kid like her shouldn't have to experience. Through all these episodes throughout the book, the reader can see Scout Finch lose her innocence. She realizes life isn't fair and most people conform to society, but society doesn't conform to people.
It’s not yet known to Scout that her dad is defending Tom Robinson, a Negro. She is in the schoolyard after classes where she is harassed by a student named Cecil Jacobs. He tells the whole class that her dad, Atticus, has been defending “niggers.” Scout denies it, until she talks with Atticus that night and he tells her about him defending Tom Robinson in court, and urged her to not get into any more fights with the students at her school. A sullen Scout arrives the next day in class to a barrage of insults further targeted towards her family and herself by Cecil Jacobs and the rest of the schoolyard: “My folks said that your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank” (Lee 81). Scout at this point in the story has made sure not to get into any more fights, because she worries that she may upset Atticus. It's because of this change in attitude that makes her an easy target at the schoolyard. People throw insults at her like it’s nothing, because they have no sympathies for a black man and the man defending him. More and more after her schoolyard encounter, Scout becomes more curious about the case and the accusation involved. As a child she shouldn't be involved with more grown-up topics, because all it does is give her a worst perspective of the town she lives in. For
- [x] Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is the protagonist of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Scout lives with her father, Atticus Finch, her brother, Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and their black housekeeper, Calpurnia. Scout is a very unusual little girl, both in her own characteristics and in her social position. She has learned to read and write even before beginning school; she is an upbeat young girl who would act for what she believes that often result in trouble among other people. For instance, when Miss Caroline, who is new to teaching and Maycomb, scolded Scout when she had thought she was aggravating her by only addressing who were the people in Maycomb. “Jean Louise, I’ve had about enough of you this morning, ... Miss Caroline picked up her ruler, gave me half a dozen quick little pats, then told me to stand in the corner."
One of To Kill a Mockingbird’s biggest selling points is its characterization of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. As irritating and pervasive it is to have a character be “not like the other girls” and that be her only trait, Harper Lee does a really good job at her execution of that trope and making Scout unique (and maybe Mockingbird deserves a bit of leeway for being so old). Just as much as it acts a coming of age story, Mockingbird also spices in criticisms of women’s culture. These criticisms are best read through the lens of an observant, open-minded, and defiant protagonist.
Scout nearly gets into another fight with a boy in her class, named Cecil Jacobs, after he declared that “Scout Finch’s daddy defends niggers.” because Atticus was asked to uphold Tom Robinson, a black man
Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch is a character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the book she grows from an innocent girl, to a knowledgeable young lady. Scout is not a typical girl, she isn’t just a loving little girl. She is a fighter, and she will fight anyone who brings her or Jem down. Although, Scout is a fighter she is innocent of the real world. However, she will soon enough learn about the harsh reality.