Throughout the novel in To KIll a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the main themes is moral development. This is well exhibited in the character Scout, as she sees many pivotal moments in her development as a child. In the story, Scout functions as both questionnaire and observer. Scout asks questions, certainly questions that aren’t “politically correct,” but she can ask their questions because she is a child. As a child, Scout doesn’t understand the full implication of the things happening around her, making her an objective observer and a reporter in the truest sense. Several events occur during the book which test her moral foundation. In fact those events make her into a more compassionate and humane human being. In the first few chapter …show more content…
She has many people who have influenced her and got her to think the way she does now. Scout is being brought up by her father, Atticus and their housemaid Calpurnia. The mid 1930’s was a time of civil racial prejudice and closed segregated views especially against Afro-Americans. Scout gets bullied by Walter Cunningham because they find out her father is defending Tom Robinson who was an African-American. “Scout,” said Atticus, “nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything-like snot-nose. It’s hard to explain-ignorant, trashy people uses it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody” (Lee 108). Scout has a hard time trying to understand and process the meaning of what a Negro-lover is. Her father has brought her up protecting her from hate and racism. He has taught her to think, to question and to make her own choices and decisions. However he can’t completely protect her from the upcoming events or reality of the life. On the other hand, her relationship with Calpurnia, she saved from racial discrimination and she has well given Scout a perspective of the true value of a human being, whatever their color may be. A great given example is when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to the local Afro-American Church. While being at the church they are being approached by an Afro-American woman who states that they aren’t welcome there. Calpurnia reacted by defending them aggressively, showing the true value of a human being. Scout begins to learn that there are bad people and good people regardless of their skin color. As it says in the book, “Mister Jem,” he said, “we’re mighty glad to have you all here. Don’t pay ‘tention to Lula, she’s contentious because Reverend Sykes threatened to church here. She’s a troublemaker from way back, got fancy ideas
During our lives, we develop morals and values through life experiences. They can be influenced by our society and the people we surround ourselves with. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates courage, social inequality and prejudice through the characters and events in the book. We experience life lessons through the protagonist Scout Finch as she develops her own values. This is displayed through a variety of life lessons and values throughout the novel.
Through the development of Scout’s relationship with Arthur Radley, Scout develops and becomes more empathetic. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is her most consistent role model and used by Lee as the moral compass. Atticus is a firm believer in teaching by example, and his respect of his children is such that he treats them almost as adults, emphasised in the line ‘he played with us, read with us, and treated us with courteous detachment’ pg. 6. This refusal to shelter Scout from the harsh realities of life in Maycomb allows her to learn from experience. The strong moral guidance offered by Atticus allows Scout not only to learn from experience, but also to develop her personal integrity. Atticus exemplifies his strong beliefs, as illustrated when he says ‘Shoot
Scout’s moral development is probably a blend of feminism and Atticus’s ethics of virtue (Solomon, 323-325). As morally developed as she is at such a young age, Scout doesn’t always grasp basic social etiquette (she tells her teacher that one of the students is too poor to pay for lunch). Human behavior can confuse her, this is especially true in the case of race and racism. Atticus’s protection and openness probably played a role in the formation of Scout’s behavior, unlike many people in her community she appears to be open-minded, fair, and disapprove of racism. This is especially true in the case of human rights, I would say she follows Atticus in the philosophy of Libertarianism (Solomon, 311).
Throughout the novel lee uses the fictional character of Scout Finch to teach her readers many valuable lessons. By the end of To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout has grown up, both physically and emotionally. She continues to learn valuable truths about her community, and seems to understand a lot about what’s going on in the world. Scout really lives up to her name throughout the book, and continues to search for what's
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses character development to coin social commentary at times concerning bravery. Bravery is a primary topic within the novel., as it is an expressed trait in main characters such as Atticus, Scout and Jem. Whether it may be brave enough to defend a colored man on an all white jury, or enough to wander onto Boo Radley’s property, bravery is the pinnacle to the novel. Also bravery of the characters is accounted into character development, in which each main character has their flash with bravery, and perseveres through times of social commentary within the town of Maycomb Alabama. However, what is an example of one character developing throughout the novel to provide the character 's own commentary during times of bravery?
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the story is told by a young girl called Jean-Louise Finch but also known as Scout aged five at the start of the book almost turning six who in the book is quite unique as she could read at the age of six and understand her fathers profession as a lawyer. The story is about Scout growing up in the southern state of Alabama in a small town called Maycomb with her brother Jem and her father called Atticus who is the lawyer. The main theme of the book is about Atticus defending a black man called Tom Robinson and he is accused of raping a white girl called Mayella Ewell and how it affects her, in the book she learns about racism and prejudice and the struggle of black men in life and she also learns about the ways of life and family traditions. The book is set in the late 1930’s so racial discrimination is at its peak in the southern states of America.
In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, most of the younger characters show growth throughout the book and Scout Finch showed the most growth in becoming mature. If it weren’t for her family, acquaintances, and people she saw regularly every day, her personality and growth would have been extremely different. The people that lived in the town of Maycomb had the biggest impact on how Scout grew up and became the person she was.
As children we are oblivious to the influence of those who surround us . We chose to see the greater good in humanity rather than the obvious truth. We are influenced by our environment and choose to abide to the morals presented to us. This applies directly to the novel to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which moves along with the lives of two young children ;Scout and Jem. Along with the obstacles they face and the exposure they have to the ideas of racism, gender roles, and degenerate morals. Throughout the novel it is evident that Scout and Jem go from naïveté to maturity due to their surroundings, influence of family members, and the arising controversy of the Tom Robinson case. They both develop
“Learn to deal with the fact that not everyone is perfect, but everyone deserves respect, honesty, justice and equality, I’m for truth no matter who tells it, I’m for justice no matter who it is for or against” (anonymous)
Scout first learns to show compassion and tolerance by refusing to go to school because she hates Miss Caroline. Atticus tells her that, 'First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along 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'; (30). When Atticus told her this, she began to accept Miss Caroline as well as other people's differences and opinions.
One of the principal aims of To Kill a Mockingbird is to subject the narrator to a series of learning experiences and then observe how much she profits from her experiences. There is rarely a chapter that does not teach Scout something new or does not build toward a new learning experience. So, one rewarding approach to the novel is through an examination of these experiences. In the largest view, Scout learns about (1) justice and injustice through the Tom Robinson trial; (2) prejustice and its effects on the processes of the law and society; (3) courage as manifested in ways others act; and (4) respect for individuality of the human being. On a smaller scale, Scout learns numerous things about numerous people; she becomes aware of the difficulty of being a lady, particularly when under dressed; and she learns when to fight and not to fight.
Harper Lee introduces Scout as an insensible tomboy caught in the midst of contrite prejudicial conception. She has not yet discovered what is right and wrong due to various misconceptions that the people of Maycomb influence her with. ?Don?t say nigger, Scout. That?s common? (75). This particular quote is said by Atticus, Scout?s father, while referring to Scout?s racial ignorance towards African Americans. This quote portrays her social standing at the beginning of the novel as she tends to act ignorant by speaking with rude racial terms. ?Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand? I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough?? (92). This quote expressed by Atticus describes Scout?s mental and emotional state near the dawning of the novel. Scout is given influential lessons through the form of words on what to think therefore she is misguided by false pretenses. These ?pretenses? may be misleading, consequently Scout is basing her beliefs about prejudice on the conceptions of others instead of what Scout truly believes. Although Scout?s ...
In the beginning of the book, Scout is worrying about her teacher’s teaching methods. In addition, Scout is worried about getting in trouble. However, towards the end of the book, Scout is tackling serious world issues. She contemplates how not everyone has the same opportunities. Furthermore, she worries about African Americans being treated unjustly on a daily basis. After the Tom Robinson trial, the whole Finch family is upset, but they leave it to young Scout to showcase her maturity. Scout shows maturity when she states, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 276). Scout saw the situation from Tom Robinson’s point of view and how he knew that he was a dead man because of the racist white jury. Earlier in the novel, she would not have been mature enough to think about the trial in that way and would not have understood such a challenging concept. After the trial, Scout starts thinking about others and what it would be like to walk a day in their shoes. This is showcased during a conversation with Jem when Scout says, “No, everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowin’. That Walter’s as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out
First of all, Scout allows the reader to focus more on the exterior of situations. Children tend to experience things differently from others. Events that take place in society may be of great importance to adults and mean nothing to children. Things of importance differ between children and adults. But sometimes, a child’s perspective may be the best way to look at things. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the whole town was talking about Tom Robinson’s trial, especially since he was African American and Atticus, a white man, was to be his lawyer. According to reviewer Edwin Bruell in Racism in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, “[To Kill A] Mockingbird, he tells us, is about the townspeople, not about Robinson” (Mancini 101)....
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.