Harper Lee Ms. Grinnell American Literature Honors 11 January 2023 The Purpose of Point of View In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Miss Maudie is used to portray the theme of perspective, through her talks with Scout and Jem about the lives of people living in Maycomb County. The book shows us what life was like in the South in the 1930s from the perspective of a young girl named Scout. Throughout the book, Miss Maudie tells Scout and Jem about how important perspective is in situations like that of Boo Radley’s past, Atticus’s hidden abilities to shoot, and when her house burns down. To begin with, Miss Maudie shifted the kids' perspectives of Boo Radley and his past actions by trying to make the kids understand what he went through. After learning about the rumor that Boo Radley had stabbed his father as a …show more content…
When a rabid dog gets loose, the Sheriff has Atticus over to shoot the dog due to his good hunting skills. After Atticus shoots the dog, a very shocked Jem and Scout go to Miss Maudie and ask why Atticus never told them about his talent for shooting. Miss Maudie tells Jem and Scout, “‘Wonder why he never goes hunin’ now,’ I said. ‘Maybe I can tell you,’ said Miss Maudie. ‘If your father’s anything, he’s a civilized in his heart. Marksmanship Is a gift of God, a talent-- oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootiin’s different from playing the piano or the like. God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today,’’” (Lee 98). Without Miss Maudie's input, Jem and Scout might never have been able to understand how Atticus viewed his talent for shooting. Her input helped to shift their perspectives to match those of Atticus, once again teaching them how perspective can change everything in certain