What Are The Lessons In To Kill A Mockingbird

Troubled times bring troubling lessons, and that was proved time and time again for Scout and Jem Finch. In the first third of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem try to investigate the notorious Arthur “Boo” Radley. Boo Radley was supposedly a middle aged man that had fooled around with the Cunninghams as a child; almost getting sent to a “state industiral school” by the judge. His imprisonment in his own home began after Mr. Radley promised that Boo would never do anything like it again. Scout and Jem became interested in the Boo Radley shenanigans after hearing the town gossip, Miss Stephanie, blaming different happenings around the town on Boo Radley. Scout heard Miss Stephanie explaining different “happenings” that turned out to be rumors, but Scout believed them as a young child would. The rumors

Scout explained their story by saying that, “It was a melancholy little drama, woven from bits and scraps of gossip and neighborhood legend: Mrs. Radley had been beautiful until she married Mr. Radey and lost all her money. She also lost most of her teeth, her hair, and her right forefinger (Dill’s contribution. Boo bit it off one night when he couldn’t find any cats and squirrels to eat. )” (Lee 52). Brewing up their own version of a story based on town gossip shows that having people who gossip in the town will influence a young child’s life, proving that the real world effects how young children develop and interpret the world. While it isn’t the most important lesson Jem and Scout learn through the three years we follow of their lives, it influences them later in life. Around the time of their game, Scout was unsure of continuing the acts while Jem patronized her for acting like a girl. Scout explains how he patronized her by sharing, “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find someone to play