Scout Finch Reflection

Jean Louise Finch is an incredible young lady who has experienced events that no other elementary child should experience. From being mistreated by her first grade teacher to getting attacked by an old trashy man, Jean Louise, or Scout, has been through it all. There was a time frame in the beginning of the novel where Scout was entering first grade. Miss. Caroline, her first grade teacher, had assessed Scout in her ability to read. Miss. Caroline had seen that Scout had the ability to read beyond her years and was frustrated by it. The teacher then proceeded on telling Scout that she should tell her father, Atticus, to stop teaching her at home. At the thought of that, if I were a teacher, I’d be solely impressed by Scout and would help her
more than discourage her. Aside from my personal thoughts, I had gone through a similar process that Scout had been through, excluding the discouraging teacher. Ironically, when I was in first grade, I had a reading assessment to see where my reading level was at. As my first grade teacher handed me a book bag with different coloured dots that indicated the difficulty of the book, I had thought to myself that all of the books were too easy. My teacher was impressed rather than discouraged like Miss.Caroline was. Consequently, I was given more difficult books to read that no other first grader was given. Having siblings can be a blessing and a curse.
Jem, Scouts older brother, was Scout’s only sibling. Jem and Scout had an unbelievable connection, but like any other siblings they did fight. While they were both starting school, Jem had told Scout that they can’t play together at school like they did at home. As Jem being the older child, his reputation meant a lot to him and Scout wouldn’t understand it just yet. Jem did reassure Scout that they would still be able to play at home, but just not at school. A lot of people can relate to this situation if they have siblings. I have an older brother and a younger sister, so being the middle child gives me the opportunity to see Jem’s point of view as well as Scout’s. My older brother is two years older than me, and when I started school he didn’t want anything to do with me. At home we would always play soccer or shoot some hoops in our tiny backyard. He would always win of course because he was much taller and more experienced than I was. However, at school he would despise me like I was a piece of bread molding in the pantry. The only time my older brother would want to be seen with me was when his friends would come up to me and ask if I was his younger sister. My older brother would be so proud to be my sibling because all of his friends thought I was a smaller version of him. Of course being the little evil, cute, princess I was, I told his friends the nasty things he does at home. “You know he picks his nose and puts his
boogers on the wall? He has a collection of them!” I would always say. My snickering would always lead to fights at home because my brother would have the reputation of being the ‘nice kid’ at school. This reflects upon Jem and Scout’s relationship as I was in Scout’s shoes and my older brother was in Jem’s shoes. Showing that Jem was cautious in being seen with Scout at school, as so was my older brother with myself. Scout has been through a lot, seen a lot, and heard a lot. Aside from the normal day-to-day life events, Scout has experienced more than a young girl should ever go through. I would never imagine myself living during the time this novel was set in. Living in a town where you know almost everyone, having to be known for the reputation of their ancestors, and solely having no technology as a source of entertainment is a world I couldn’t imagine living in. I did manage to connect to a couple of the situations Scout had been through, yet I couldn’t connect to anything else. Living in a generation where a screen was put in front of your face ever since you were a baby shows how much of a regular life we missed. Being able to play with your siblings outside, run towards your parent’s workplace so you can walk home with them, and connecting with other people in your neighbourhood. There is nothing more I would want to have than Jean Louise’s life.