How does Scout evolve throughout To Kill A Mockingbird?
Scout matures from her experiences in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, she is innocent and naive. By the end of the novel, she has lost much of her innocence due mostly to the events surrounding Tom Robinson's trial. She understands more about life and people. She learns about prejudice and intolerance when she witnesses the trial of Tom Robinson and sees how ugly people can be when they are racists and bigots. She also learns this lesson about Boo Radley who has been made out to be a monster. At the end of the book, she learns what a good, kind man Arthur Radley really is.
Scout also matures from the time she spends with the people who live around her and with her. Calpurnia teaches Scout manners, such as the time Cecil Jacobs comes home to eat lunch with them. Scout comments on Cecil pouring syrup all over his food, and Calpurnia scolds her for it. Miss Maudie teaches Scout about her father and the beliefs Atticus holds dear. She tells Scout why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird and comments on some of the other people in the town.
Atticus has the biggest influence on Scout. At the beginning, she wishes Atticus was younger and more active, like other fathers. As the book progresses, she begins to respect Atticus for his courage and his ways of parenting. By the end of the book, Scout is on her way to becoming a young woman whom Atticus can be proud of.
How does Scout evolve throughout To Kill A Mockingbird?
One of the reasons, I think, that To Kill A Mockingbird has such lasting appeal to American readers (particularly to American teachers) is that the novel shows a young person developing a fuller respect for humans, even with all of their differences. This development of Scout is set in the Depression era, but the novel is published in 1960, amid the ncreasingly visible struggles for and against racial integration in the United States.
Early in the story, Scout insensitively criticizes the Cunningham boy at the dinner table, for example, for pouring syrup all over his food. She is chastized here, of course, and comes to act in a more mature manner in later instances in the novel, particularly in her views toward Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
The themes resource given below lists "Prejudice and Tolerance" first in its discussion of several themes in the novel.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Scout's initial description of Mayella Ewell reflect her character growth?
Scout describes Mayella physically--she seems strong, but stealthy. She also notices that Mayella seems to try most than the rest of the Ewells--she seems as though she tries to keep clean on a regular basis rather than just on special occasions.The big moment that shows Scout is growing up is that she comes to the conclusion that Mayella must be lonelier than Boo Radley. White people won't have anything to do with her because of her family and poverty and black people wouldn't have anything to do with her because she is white. Scout and Dill have already come to the conclusion that Boo Radley perhaps wants to stay in his house--but Mayella seems to want to be a part of a society that won't have anything to do with her.
Scout is able to put herself in Mayella's shoes and understand what it must feel like to be Mayella. Scout is also not simply judging Mayella on what she has heard about Mayella or the Ewells. Scout is able to see that a person doesn't have to be all one thing--like Boo isn't just creepy and Mayella isn't just a rude Ewell--there are different parts to everyone's personality.
How does Scout's opinions in "To Kill a Mockingbird" indicate she is growing up?
Scout loses her childhood innocence after witnessing blatant racism during the Tom Robinson trial. Following the trial, Scout demonstrates her growth and maturation by commenting on Tom's wrongful conviction and analyzing Mr. Underwood's editorial. When Mr. Underwood likens Tom's conviction to the senseless slaughter of songbirds, Scout thinks to herself,
Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death...Then Mr. Underwood’s meaning became clear: 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, 245)
In the next chapter, Scout once again illustrates her enhanced perspective by recognizing Miss Gates's hypocrisy when she comments that there is no such thing as prejudice in the United States. Scout recalls witnessing Miss Gates make racist comments and asks Jem about her hypocrisy. Toward the end of the novel, Scout demonstrates her maturation and moral development by metaphorically applying one of Atticus's earlier lessons. After Sheriff Tate explains to Atticus that he refuses to inform the community about Boo's heroics, Scout compares Boo to a symbolic mockingbird because he is innocent, vulnerable, and in need of protection.
How does Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird mature and change?
Scout Finch grows into a young lady who empathizes with others.
Most of us change when we grow up. Scout experiences a lot during the years this book takes place. Throughout the course of her childhood she grows and matures into someone who considers the feelings of others as well as her own.
Scout’s father Atticus tries to teach her empathy from a young age. He impresses upon her the importance of not making fun of the Radleys or spewing their family business in the yard for all to see. He also asks her to think about things from others’ points of view when she has trouble with her teacher. Atticus tells Scout to get inside another person’s skin and walk around in it to see things from the other person’s perspective.
Atticus said I had learned many things today, and Miss Caroline had learned several things herself... We could not expect her to learn all Maycomb’s ways in one day, and we could not hold her responsible when she knew no better (Chapter 3).
This growing sense of perspective is evident in Scout’s perception of the trial. She becomes upset when people insult her father and asks him what he is doing that people take such an issue with. Atticus explains he is just defending a black man, and that is unpopular in Maycomb but he has to do it because it is the right thing to do and it is his job.
During the trial, Scout watches the proceedings with growing understanding. Mayella Ewell, the white girl who accused Tom Robinson of rape, seems very lonely to Scout. She realizes things are not always as they seem.
As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley, who had not been out of the house in twenty-five years (Chapter 19).
Scout understands there are issues of class at work here. Dolphus Raymond can live with his black woman and their kids, and people say it is just his way because he is from a good family. Mayella lives by the dump, and her father drinks away the Ewell family's welfare money. No one just accepts her the way she is.
Understanding her brother is sometimes harder for Scout. As they get older, Scout and Jem grow apart. Scout does not understand Jem's behavior or perspective all the time, and she feels lonely. She always wants to be on equal footing with Jem, but there always seems to be a difference, either because of her gender or age.
Scout comes full circle when she and Jem are rescued by Boo Radley. Bob Ewell attacks them and Boo saves them. Scout gets to live out a childhood fantasy by taking the gentle man’s hand and walking him home. Once on the Radley porch, Scout reflects on perspective:
Atticus was right. One time he said 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 (Chapter 31).
Scout has turned into a little lady. She went from wandering around in overalls and climbing trees to helping her aunt host ladies' church meetings. Scout has an understanding of her place in society, and she has slowly come to accept it.
Analyze the character development of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Whether or not Harper Lee studied Piaget's stages of cognitive development or not, Lee did an admiral job of showing readers a character that is moving from the preoperational stage to the concrete operational stage. The preoperational stage tends to exist when a person is between the ages of 2 and 7 years old. One of the characteristics of this stage is that a child tends to be egocentric and struggles to see things from another person's perspective. When the book begins, Scout is just about 6 years old, and readers can see Atticus trying to help Scout consider things from another person's perspective:
"First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—"
"Sir?"
"—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
At the book's conclusion, Scout is 8 years old. She has technically moved into Piaget's concrete operation stage which exists between 7 and 11 years of age. It is during this developmental stage when a child begins losing some of their egocentric tendencies. Kids become better at thinking about how other people might feel or see a particular situation. I believe that her final interaction with Boo helps readers see this change in Scout. In the book's final paragraphs, Scout is talking about a character from the story Atticus was reading, but the subtext hints that she is also referring to her newfound attitude and opinion about Boo as well:
"Atticus, he was real nice . . ."
His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me.
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
Analyze the character development of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout develops from an innocent, impulsive child to a more knowing and caring young girl as the novel progresses. At the beginning, Scout is somewhat careless with her language and her tone of voice when speaking to others, but by the end of the novel, she is more considered and thoughtful in her speech. This change reveals the development in her character very clearly.
For example, in Chapter 2, Scout doesn't think carefully before speaking out loud in class, and she creates a difficult situation for herself with the teacher and with Walter Cunningham. She means to be helpful, but she doesn't think it all through, and Scout ends up frustrated and tearful at being so misunderstood. Later, in Chapter 3, Scout and Calpurnia clash because, yet again, Scout innocently speaks her mind, and her curiosity about Walter Cunningham's table manners leads to another difficult situation.
An example of change takes place later in the book when Scout shows more thoughtfulness and restraint in her speech, signifying growth and maturity. In Chapter 15, during one of the most poignant moments in the whole novel, Scout speaks carefully and politely to Mr. Cunningham during the mob scene. Her childish good intentions are tempered by her awareness of the men and her learning to be more thoughtful, and she single-handedly contains the mob and the men disperse. Here, the power of Scout's newfound handle on language is apparent as well as her maturing awareness.
Analyze the character of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout is a very complex character, so an analysis of her should be fairly focused. For example, what kind of a person do you think she is? By answering that question, you can begin to analyze the ways she demonstrates those specific characteristics in the book.
Scout is often viewed as young, innocent, brave, tough, honest, intelligent, and precocious. In order to analyze her more closely, consider choosing one of those character traits, or another that you have noticed yourself that is not listed here, and begin to find quotes from the book that back up your claim that her personality is such.
Let's say you wanted to talk about Scout being brave. You might cite the example from Ch. 15 where she steps into the middle of the conversation (more accurately, the brewing fight) between Atticus and the mob who have shown up to the jail to take Tom Robinson. She strikes up a conversation with Mr. Cunnigham about his son, Walter. This is brave of Scout because she recognizes how tense the situation is and that Atticus is in a tight spot. She hopes to relieve some of that tension, and without realizing it, she does something very brave. The best part? It works! This is just one, and perhaps the most extreme example, of Scout being brave.
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