Scout Finch Childhood
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which describes the childhood experiences of Jean Louise Finch, or known mainly as Scout, who lives in the town of Maycomb in Alabama. Throughout the story, many groups of people in the 1930’s, which consisted of the African American community, has experience unjust treatment. In the beginning of the novel, Scout starts out innocent, essentially in her own bubble, but as the story progresses on she begins to break out of her bubble from these events. From the Tom Robinson trial, events such as Atticus’s teachings and Boo Radley, Scout matured from the racial and social injustices in Maycomb, making her more sensitive and understanding. At the beginning of the story, Scout is told by Atticus
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that she will never truly understand a person unless she stands in their own shoes. She does not truly understand what he means until the end of the book. She is told about Boo, known as Arthur Radley, through myths and tall tales that were conceived from Jem and Maycomb. Scout has experienced the injustice placed on Boo, and conjures him up as some sort of ghost, not taking account of Atticus’s words. Scout comes to understand that Boo is different from the tales that she has been told through the Bob Ewell's attack, “...our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears” (Lee 362). She accepts Boo Radley as a neighbor in the town instead as a ghost. He was a part of the town as much as Jem and her was, even though he has chosen to stay in his home. After her encounter with Boo, she was able to distinguish between fact and fiction and becomes able to truly stand in his shoes.
Over the course and after the end of the trial, Scout begins to grasp concept of racial injustice.
Miss Gates talks about Hitler persecuting the Jews as a horrible thing, but Scout questions why she criticizes the African-American in their town after the Tom Robinson Trial, “Jem,how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home- ”(Lee 331). She is able to identify the hypocrisy in Mrs. Gates words, even though almost the same exact event is happening in their town. Later on, Scout reads about an article, talking about Tom Robinson being part of senseless death. She had understood that he was tried under the court law by jury, but was doomed from start once Mayella started to talk. In the end, she finally got that there was still racial prejudice in the courtroom, even though Atticus had done his all to protect him and that there was no way of winning this case against the word of a white woman. Scout has become more insight about how racism affects her town, when before she didn’t quite understand what racism was. Maycomb has experienced many events from the trial to the attack on the Finch children. Scout begun the story as a child, full of innocence,not knowing the dark truth involving the different groups of people in Maycomb, Alabama. Many social and racial injustices occur experiences in front of her that finally opens her up to the real world and its injustices. Scout as a character has been influenced from these events, and has
become different from who she was before the novel had started.
that she will never truly understand a person unless she stands in their own shoes. She does not truly understand what he means until the end of the book. She is told about Boo, known as Arthur Radley, through myths and tall tales that were conceived from Jem and Maycomb. Scout has experienced the injustice placed on Boo, and conjures him up as some sort of ghost, not taking account of Atticus’s words. Scout comes to understand that Boo is different from the tales that she has been told through the Bob Ewell's attack, “...our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears” (Lee 362). She accepts Boo Radley as a neighbor in the town instead as a ghost. He was a part of the town as much as Jem and her was, even though he has chosen to stay in his home. After her encounter with Boo, she was able to distinguish between fact and fiction and becomes able to truly stand in his shoes.
Over the course and after the end of the trial, Scout begins to grasp concept of racial injustice.
Miss Gates talks about Hitler persecuting the Jews as a horrible thing, but Scout questions why she criticizes the African-American in their town after the Tom Robinson Trial, “Jem,how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home- ”(Lee 331). She is able to identify the hypocrisy in Mrs. Gates words, even though almost the same exact event is happening in their town. Later on, Scout reads about an article, talking about Tom Robinson being part of senseless death. She had understood that he was tried under the court law by jury, but was doomed from start once Mayella started to talk. In the end, she finally got that there was still racial prejudice in the courtroom, even though Atticus had done his all to protect him and that there was no way of winning this case against the word of a white woman. Scout has become more insight about how racism affects her town, when before she didn’t quite understand what racism was. Maycomb has experienced many events from the trial to the attack on the Finch children. Scout begun the story as a child, full of innocence,not knowing the dark truth involving the different groups of people in Maycomb, Alabama. Many social and racial injustices occur experiences in front of her that finally opens her up to the real world and its injustices. Scout as a character has been influenced from these events, and has
become different from who she was before the novel had started.