Jean Louise (Scout) Finch begins the novel as a curious and smart six year old and progresses into a mature and self-aware nine year old by the end. Sometimes the narrations of the important events surrounding her aren’t accurate. Scout is still a child, so it’s understandable for some actions or words to be misconstrued. Her innocence allows readers of the book a chance to see the events and characters in the novel clearly.
Before the trial Atticus goes to sit outside the jail where Tom Robinson is being held to look out for him. Jem, Dill, and Scout follow and watch a group of men approach Atticus. Scout wants to see what he will do, so she runs to see him. Ending up in the middle of the crowd, she says, “I sought once more for a familiar face, and at the center of the semi-circle I found one. ‘Hey, Mr. Cunningham.’ ” (Chap. 15) Scout does not realize that she has just put herself in danger, and proceeds to attempt to talk to the only known face in the crowd, Mr. Cunningham’s. She doesn’t understand that the crowd was really a mob the was coming to hurt Tom Robinson. For that minute, she shifted the men’s focus to a
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A woman approached Cal and said that the white children weren’t welcome there. Cal stood up for them and they entered the church. Scout didn’t understand why there were no hymn books, and was even more confused when Cal told her that most of the folks in the church couldn’t read. She had been sheltered from the harsh reality by Atticus for so long that she couldn’t comprehend why black people were being treated differently. Then she asked Calpurnia if she could visit her house sometime. At that period in time, a white child going to the black neighborhood to visit the help was a disgrace to the family. The fact that Scout didn’t think about the social consequences of her actions shows how she hasn’t yet been tainted by the views of that