As Scout watched Calpurnia, she gradually begins to think that “there was some skill involved in being a girl” (154). In part one of the book, Scout treats femininity like a disease, however, she begins to respect it when she realizes that being a girl doesn’t mean being weak and useless, but rather, to have abilities different from that of a male. During Atticus’ second encounter with a group of men, Scout doesn’t hesitate to resort to violence to protect Jem. She screams, “‘Don’t you touch him!’ I kicked the man swiftly” (204). With the inkling feeling that the mob around Atticus was dangerous, one of the first things Scout does is attempt to kick one of the men. Despite the difference in size, age, and experience, she makes a move in an attempt to protect her family. …show more content…
As Scout observes Mayella’s cross-examination, she realizes how alone Mayella is just from her reactions to Atticus’ questions. Slowly, as the book progresses, Scout learns to empathize with others, to understand their paradigm and live with an open mind. Raymond reason for revealing his secret to the kids is “Because you’re children and you can understand it” (268). Raymond’s meaning behind his words was because; since Scout is a child, she holds no prejudice. She is able to empathize with people equally and to the point that no biased adult would be able to. During Jem and Reverend Sykes talk about rape and its punishments, “Sykes demurred, ‘this ain’t a polite thing for ladies to hear…’ ‘It most certainly is not’” (279). Scout, determined to be a part of the grown-up conversation blatantly announces her understanding of rape, even when she didn’t know anything. She believes that she is old and mature enough to be considered equal to Jem and Reverend