To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: Character Analysis

Marcel Proust once said, “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Humans see what they want to see as it is human nature to judge others before getting an opportunity to know them. As harsh as it may seem, it is the process by which we are able to quickly make sense of others and of our surroundings. The way a person sees or processes something does not change overnight, it could take days, months or even years for a change to occur. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee demonstrates the changes in Scout’s perception during her progression through childhood. This is evident by the way she views Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley differently by the end of the book.

To begin,

Henry Lafayette Dubose is that she is a force not to be reckoned with. According to Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose is the true definition of real courage, and he makes Jem read to her. Scout strongly disagrees with his perspective. She believes that the aging woman’s sole purpose on earth is to ridicule and criticize every detail of anyone who enters her line of vision with comments such as : “ ‘ What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole young lady! You’ll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways…’ “( Mrs. Dubose 136). Unfortunately, Scout develops a very negative attitude towards Mrs. Dubose due to the terrible impression she leaves on the young girl. She realizes that the old woman is not a fan of the Finch family and even considers walking a mile out of her way just to avoid her house. When Mrs. Dubose mysteriously disappears from her porch and Scout inquires as to where she went, her father explains that Mrs. Dubose had died. He explains how she went through the physical and mental pain of removing herself from enslaving drugs to die free of her addiction, and how her goal was to : “ ‘ …leave this world holden to nothing and nobody.’ ” (Atticus Finch 148). With this, Scout understands the reasons why her father did what he did and how he wanted them to see what real courage looks like. Even at a young age Scout is able to understand what the intentions of Mrs. Dubose really were, something she might have not understood a couple of months before. Even if Scout’s attitude towards Mrs. Dubose do not entirely change, she ultimately sees a true and courageous