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How Does Scout Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Characters in a book not only tell the story, but teach the reader a lesson. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout, is one of the major characters. She is meant to open the eyes of readers to their overlooked mothers. Throughout the story, she matures greatly because of the women in her life, such as Calpurnia, her Aunt Alexandra, and Miss Maudie. In this novel, Scout teaches all readers the lesson about how important it is to have a motherly figure in your life; she does so through possessing the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot-tempered.
First off, Scout is a very curious, young girl. Her curiosity drives her to do things that do not always seem to be the best of ideas. …show more content…

She often loses her cool quickly, and resorts to fighting. Scout narrates, “My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly” (98). Cecil Jacobs, Scout’s peer, says something offensive to her, causing her to prepare to fight. She makes sure to get back at the person who upsets her by hurting them in return. Walter Cunningham, another classmate of Scout, infuriates her, therefore she rubs his nose in the dirt until Jem commands her to stop. Scout even swings at her cousin, she explains, “This time I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth” (112). Her cousin antagonizes her, so she punches him in the face; she thinks that fighting is a possible solution to conflict when it should not be. Scout learns to see other’s point of views because of Miss Maudie; seeing other aspects of situations helps to better solve the problem than fighting, which is being more mature. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout shows the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot-tempered, which proves the point that a motherly figure is needed in a child’s life. Although Scout lost her mother at a very young age, she has other motherly figures such as Calpurnia, her Aunt Alexandra, and Miss Maudie to help guide her to being the mature lady she needs to grow up to be. Scout matures immensely due to these women being in her life. She learns to be more respectful, more ladylike, and more composed. Scout teaches readers that it is crucial for a child to have a motherly figure in their life, in order to reach their full

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A character in a book changes drastically from the beginning to the end, they grow as a character and learn many lessons throughout the book. Just like Harper Lee's book “To Kill a Mockingbird” the central character Scout, shifts from a state of innocence to maturity with the result of surviving various misunderstandings. The story presents two Scouts: the little girl experiencing the story and the adult Jean Louise who tells the story. She is raised by her father Atticus who is very political, and empathic. At the beginning of the story, Scout is a curious five year old who asks mindless questions but it's acceptable because she is a child.

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This compromise that was made impacts Scout because she shows off that she does have the courage to go against someone. The scene is an important piece to Scout character development because it illustrates how Scout is not only courageous but is also developing in emotional maturity as having fortitude is an emotion, and Scout learns to use it. Moreover, Scout shows prowess by holding herself back from attacking Cecil Jacobs because he was bad-mouthing Atticus. In this situation, Scout explains, “‘My fists were clenched, and I was ready to let fly. Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold on, the better off everybody would be.

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