In chapter five, Scout befriends Miss Maudie. This friendship is important because Scout really has no other adult female role models. Miss Maudie appeals to Scout because she is not as pretentious as her Aunt Alexandra and she is not as didactic as her teacher Miss Caroline. Miss Maudie also has gossip to relate about Boo, and she seems to understand life from a child's perspective.

In a sense, Scout becomes friends with Boo, even if only for one night, after he rescues her and Jem from Ewell's attack. Scout walks Boo home, knowing that he is afraid of the dark. Boo, however childlike he appears, is a fully grown adult.This friendship stems, too, from the long history of gifts that Boo has left for them in the hole in the tree.