Question

What are some quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird that best describe Scout Finch?

Accepted Answer

Since Scout is narrating the book, every sentence could potentially describe her. So, let me proceed by giving three adjectives that describe Scout with a quote to back it up. Scout is: precocious, tough, and empathetic. 
First, Scout is precocious. She is well ahead of her peers in intellectual matters. Moreover, she is incredibly curious. For instance, when she went to school, she was already reading. More than that, her reading level was very high. Here is what Jem says about Scout's reading ability to Dill:

“Shoot no wonder, then,” said Jem, jerking his thumb at me. “Scout yonder’s been readin‘ ever since she was born, and she ain’t even started to school yet. You look right puny for goin’ on seven.”

Scout is also tough. She is a veritable tomboy. For example, when she feels that Walter got her in trouble, she beat him up.

Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop. “You’re bigger’n he is,” he said. 
“He’s as old as you, nearly,” I said. “He made me start off on the wrong foot."
“Let him go, Scout.

Finally, it took a while, but in the end, Scout learned how to see things from the perspective of others. At the end of the novel, Atticus thought he would have a difficult time trying to explain that Bob Ewell fell on his knife, but Scout was way ahead of Atticus. To protect Boo Radley was a good thing. For her it was protecting a mockingbird, a point that Atticus probably did not consider. Here is the quote:

Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. “What do you mean?” “Well, it’d be sort of like shootin‘ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”

Answer

Scout is portrayed as a lovable, short-tempered tomboy, who is extremely curious and intelligent for her age. In Part One of the novel, Scout's temper and lack of self-control get her into trouble quite often. In Chapter 9, Scout reveals her short temper and rash behavior by punching her cousin in the face after he calls Atticus a "nigger-lover." Scout mentions,

This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right, but not for long. (Lee, 87)

Later that evening, Uncle Jack has a conversation with Scout and she demonstrates her strong will and bold personality by telling her uncle,

"You’re real nice, Uncle Jack, an‘ I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don’t understand children much." (Lee, 88)

Scout is also extremely curious and naive as a child. In Chapter 15, she witnesses the Old Sarum bunch surround her father outside of the Maycomb jailhouse and listens as Atticus speaks to the group of intimidating men. Scout reveals her curious personality by mentioning,

This was the second time I heard Atticus ask that question in two days, and it meant somebody’s man would get jumped. This was too good to miss. I broke away from Jem and ran as fast as I could to Atticus. (Lee, 153)

Despite Scout's rough edges, she has a good heart and develops a firm understanding of her racist community following the Tom Robinson trial. Scout becomes a mature, insightful young girl, who notices hypocrisy in her community and begins to question her prejudiced society. After listening to her third-grade teacher say that there is no prejudice in the United States, Scout tells her brother,

"Well, coming out of the courthouse that night Miss Gates was—she was goin‘ down the steps in front of us, you musta not seen her—she was talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ’em a lesson, they were gettin‘ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an‘ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home—" (Lee, 251)

To Kill a Mockingbird

What are some quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird that best describe Scout Finch?

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