Mental Changes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Throughout a lifetime, people grow and change based on many different factors. Characters in literature are no different. Published in 1960, Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, centers around a young girl named Scout and her experiences as she grows up in the suburbs of 1930s Southern Alabama. During a period of 4 years, she, her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and many others experience occurrences and events bound to alter opinions and thoughts. Over the course of a lifetime, a variety of factors influence one’s mental growth and perspective of right and wrong, such as what one sees and hears as well as surrounding family, friends, acquaintances, and more.
Towards the beginning of the book, the Finch family cook, an African-American

Towards Christmas Time, Jem, Scout, and Atticus travel to see family at Maycomb Junction. There, her dislike for her cousin Francis is shown. After eating Christmas dinner, Scout and Francis begin conversing about their lives since the last time they saw each other. It starts out polite and good-natured but soon turns the other way. Just several minutes pass and Francis insults Atticus multiple times, telling Scout that “‘…it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a[n] [n-word]-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family—’” (Lee 94). This continues until Scout finally snaps. She allows her emotions to take over and she “...split[s] [her] knuckle to the bone on [Francis’s] front teeth.” (Lee 96). Only partially aware of the magnitude of the case Atticus is involved in, Scout does understand that many citizens in Maycomb–and now her cousin–disagree with what Atticus is doing on account of racial biases, and, wanting to defend her father’s dignity, she lashes out at her cousin. She allows Francis’s words and actions to influence her emotions, later leading to discipline. While Scout allowed Francis’s words to influence her emotions and actions, the exact opposite occurs when Aunt Alexandra comes to live with her for some time. Puzzled at first by her Aunt’s presence, Scout inquires as to the purpose of her visit, to which Aunt Alexandra replies, “‘We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys—’” (Lee 145). Being a tomboy, Scout tends not to follow typical gender stereotypes perceived as normal at that time, something that Aunt Alexandra—and many others in Maycomb—refuse to accept. Despite it never being mentioned directly, Aunt Alexandra pressures Atticus into allowing her to live with him