How Does Scout Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

While one of the main themes of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is understanding another human’s perspective. Scout Finch, the story’s protagonist, shows growth and maturity as she learns to deal with the injustice of a prejudiced society. Scout is a young girl from Alabama whose father, Atticus Finch, is asked to defend an African-American man who is charged with rape. The southern way of life during the Great Depression would not allow Tom Robinson a fair trial, and Scout and her brother Jem are forced to deal with a county’s ignorance and racist attitudes. While in the beginning of the book Scout seems to be an innocent, naive little girl, she matures as time goes on and ultimately learns the lessons her father wants her to understand.

For example Scout demonstrates a lack of tolerance when her first grade teacher, Miss Caroline tells Scout to go read the board and berates Scout with her words, “Let’s not let our imaginations run away with us dear.” She continues, “Now tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell your father [I’ll] take over from here and try to undo the damage”(23). This episode with Miss Caroline does not set well with Scout and at recess she exclaims to Jem, in an upset manner that “ If I [didn’t] have to stay [I’d] leave”(23). Scout definitely does not have any patience with her first grade teacher. At that moment Jem explains by saying “Our teacher says Miss Caroline’s introducing a new way of teaching.” He continues, “ She learned about it in college. [It’ll] be in all the grades soon. You [don’t] have to learn much out of books that way- [it’s] like if you [wanta] learn about cows, you go milk one, see?” Scout answers by saying, “ Yeah Jem, but I [don’t wanta] study cows”(24). Perhaps Scout would have, been more considerate of others if she had taken her father’s advice, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”(39). Scout being 6 years old, has many hard lessons to learn as she begins to

At that moment Scout informs her by saying, “[You’re shamin’] him Miss Caroline.” she continues, Walter [hasn’t] got a quarter at home to bring you, and you [can’t] use any stovewood”(28). This episode between Scout and Miss Caroline goes over like a ton of bricks because after Scout tells her this, Miss Caroline grabs Scout by the collar, hauls Scout to her desk, whips Scout on the hand with a ruler, and then tells her to go stand in a corner. Naturally Scout lost her temper, and she had to take out on a certain someone that she thinks made her start off on the wrong foot. So in chapter 3 she goes after Walter Cunningham and starts to fight him until Jem pulls her off of Walter. After all of these events come into place, Scout asks her father, inquisitively, if they are poor and he riposted Scout’s question by saying, “Not exactly. The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest.’’ He continues, Mr. Cunningham could get a WPA job, but his land would go to ruin if he left it, and he was willing to go hungry to keep his land and vote as he pleased”(27). This statement shows that the Cunninghams are proud people and that Scout cannot keep her temper under control because if she would have taken her father’s words to heart she would have not let her temper get the best of