To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story about prejudice, childhood and more. It tells the story of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her life in 1960s Maycomb, Alabama. Scout, daughter of Atticus Finch and sister to Jem Finch, is a young child who lives freely in Maycomb. In the novel, she experiences many events, from the meeting of her best friend Dill to seeing a black man’s unjust trial. With the help of other characters and Atticus’s wise words, Scout grows as a character throughout the entire novel. Unlike the other characters, Scout’s moral development was one of the greatest in the story. She starts off as a young, naive and prideful child and grows to become an understanding and empathetic young woman. Using Kohlberg’s stages …show more content…
She starts off in level one and two and gradually makes her way to level three. Her voyage takes the entire novel to complete but is worth it in the end. Scout’s moral development is influenced by pivotal events in the story. In the beginning of the novel, Scout and Jem adventure their neighborhood as little kids. Her actions are reckless and noted by Atticus on page 116 when he states, “I’m not worried about Jem keeping his head, but Scout’d just as soon jump on someone as look at him if her pride’s at stake...” At this moment Scout is in level one of Kohlberg’s stages. She exerts a desire to do as she pleases and only follows rules under certain authority figures to avoid punishment. For example, on page 45, Jem says, “You don’t ‘n’ I’ll tell Calpurnia on you!” to Scout. Scout obeys Jem to avoid her punishment. However, in chapter two and three she is against Miss Caroline and the school system because she knows she does not want to be there no matter what. She also goes as far as to attempt to beat up Walter Cunningham for setting her off on the wrong foot on page 30. In the next few chapters she progresses to level two of Kohlberg’s …show more content…
She does this because Francis called Atticus a n*****-lover. On page 114, when her Uncle Jack asks her what Francis called Atticus, she replies, “A n*****-lover. I ain’t very sure what it means, but the way Francis said it- tell you one thing right now, Uncle Jack, I’ll be- I swear before God if I’ll sit there and let him say somethin’ about Atticus.” Even though she does not know what it means, she knows what Francis said is an insult. As a result, Scout decides to dive head first into the problem and chases Francis. She is aware of all the consequences she will face, but she does not care. She wants to stand up for Atticus and do what is right according to her. This is her stepping into level three of Kohlberg’s stages. What she does conflicts with the rules, but it lives up to the higher rules of morality depicted in level three of Kohlberg’s stages. The last event that influences Scout’s personal growth is when she escorted Arthur/Boo Radley home in chapter 31. On page 372 and 373, Scout says, “...if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do.” She does this
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.
...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.
The first way Scout developed throughout the book was when she became less aggressive. In the beginning, Scout was aggressive when she beats up Walter Cunningham up on the playground on her first day of school. She beats Walter up because he got her in trouble with the teacher. Walter got Scout in trouble because when the teacher asked who had lunch, Walter didn’t raise his hand and when the teacher, Miss Caroline, tried to give
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
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).
Scout’s newfound knowledge emphasizes her maturity: “Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home” (Lee 331). This quote demonstrates Scout’s recent development to maturity, because she takes a historical event and puts it into context of her own town. She’s making big comparisons like her town’s discrimination towards African Americans and Hitler’s discrimination toward Jews, which indicates that Scout is starting to use her education to examine the bigger picture of reality. Also, Scout begins to question the actions of Hitler and tries to interpret his wrongdoings with what she learns in school and her own knowledge. In the story, Scout narrates, “One maniac and millions of German folks. Looked to me like they’d shut Hitler in a pen instead of letting him shut them up. There was something else wrong―I would ask my father about it” (Lee 329). This quote exemplifies Scouts maturity, because instead of just learning about Hitler and abandoning everything she learned later on, Scout wants to understand why Hitler did what he did and how. This shows how Scout wants to see the world for what it really is. Scout’s beginning to see the world for what it really is, thus depleting her
Atticus helps scout with interacting and showing her how to socialize with others while getting to know them. Atticus tries to teach scout that not everyone is going to like her but, as Atticus states, "no matter what anybody says to you, don't let them get your goat", (Chapter 9 page 101). He explains how scout should not let what people say influence her to think otherwise about something. At the same time, Atticus explains how she neither can judge anyone either, as Atticus formally says, "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view" [...] (chapter 3 page 39). Atticus wants scout to know and understand that it is wrong to judge or assume something about somebody if you don't know the accurate reason as to why they do what they do. Being the kind, respectful man Atticus is, he also wants to teach scout the right from wrong,
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
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.
Scout's reaction is quite unique. She is a combination of Atticus and Dolphus. Scout is a mixture of both of them because Atticus would never get in a fist fight, and Dolphus would never talk about what he did and what he should have done afterwards, but Atticus always does. Scout is faced with a lot of trouble in and out of school involving the trial. Almost all of her fights start with someone calling Atticus a n*****-lover. Scout gets in a fight with her cousin, Francis, because he says Atticus is a n*****-lover: "Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and crooned softly, 'N*****-lover...' This time I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth" (Lee 96). If Atticus would of been in that situation, he would of talked to Francis about what that really means, and why he is defending Tom. Whereas if Scout is replaced with Dolphus, the scene would not be much different. One of the main things that makes Scout and Atticus alike is that they both can reflect afterwards on what should have happened and apply it to the next situation. This is effective because throughout the rest of the book Scout's fight rate goes down. After her fight with Francis, Uncle Jack tries to talk to her, but Scout is used to Atticus' method: "'Well, in first place you never stopped to gimme a chance to tell you my side of it- you just lit right into me. When Jem an' I fuss Atticus doesn't ever just listen
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 ...
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a remarkable novel following the childhood of Jem and Scout, the son and daughter of Atticus Finch. Living in a small and drama filled town of Maycomb County they encounter a great deal of people who do not stand by their word. Hypocrisy occurs throughout this novel first by a man named Dolphus Raymond, then by two women Mrs. Merriweather and Miss Gates.
Scout does not heed Atticus’ advice in Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird, as she continues to express her biased hatred for Calpurnia, and also openly contradicts Jem, without considering the perspectives to which they are taking. As stated by Harper Lee, “...Calpurnia’s tyranny, unfairness, and meddling in my business had faded to gentle grumbling of general disapproval (45)”. This quote expresses the many ways Scout thinks of Calpurnia, a great many of which as terrible and controlling. This biased description of Calpurnia shows how Scout is still unable to understand why Calpurnia consistently disciplines her, and from what standpoint she is doing so. Also stated by Lee, “Jem stamped his foot. “Don’t you know you’re not suppose to even
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
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