Analysis Of A Parent In Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

Just Hear Me Out If a child is being rude, not listening, behaving poorly, or being irresponsible, a parent will most likely discipline them for not acting how they should. They might take away their phone, not let them see their friends, or ground them. However, some punishments go too far. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, a 6 year old girl from a small town in Alabama, is spending Christmas with her dad’s brother, Uncle Jack. Atticus, Scout's father, takes them to Finch’s Landing, which is a rambling old house in the country where Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, and her husband live. Francis, Alexandra's grandson, makes fun of Scout's friend, Dill. Scout curses at Francis and beats him up. Francis tells Uncle Jack and she beat

Francis kept nagging her about what her father was doing defending a black person, so she did what she knew was wrong to defend her father. And when she tried to defend herself to Uncle Jack, he did not even let her speak. “‘You know I told you you’d get in trouble if you used words like that? I told you, didn’t I?’ ‘Yes sir, but---’” (Lee 96). Scout admitted to Uncle Jack that she knew she had broken a rule. As she was explaining what happened Uncle Jack cut her off and not letting her finish explaining herself. He starts to whip her. With the situation that occurred, that was too severe of a punishment, especially because he did not hear the full story. Research has shown that hearing a child out in a situation is a healthy way to ease the tension in situations. A study held by the American Academy of Pediatrics states, “Listening is important. Let your child finish the story before helping solve the problem” (“What’s?”). If a problem escalates, hear both sides of the situation before jumping to an immediate conclusion. If both sides are heard the opinion on the situation might change and it could be looked at differently. The AAP also states that using physical is unbeneficial because it can just lead to more anger and aggression in a child, which is what Scout was working