Why Is Friendship Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

Sometimes to wake up a community up, all it takes is a little friendship. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee proves friendship is important to life. The novel is about Jem Finch and Jean Louise (Scout) Finch who live in Maycomb county, Alabama, during the Great Depression. The story tells of how they make some very different friends and how some of those friends help them in their journey of growing up. Sometimes friendship comes from unexpected places like different social classes, ages, and appearances. Near the start of the book the reader meets Walter Cunningham, a child in Scout's class who comes from a very poor family. After school Jem tells Walter, “come on home to dinner with us Walter” (Lee, 30;ch. 3). Walter most likely would not have eaten at all that day if Jem had not invited him to dinner. Since Walter is poor most people would not have invited him to dinner because they would know he could not repay them. During this Scout learns she should not judge Walter simply because he is

At one point Scout is laughed at by older ladies because she made a mistake, yet Miss Maudie did not laugh along. Scout tells the reader, “she never laughed at me unless I meant to be funny” (Lee, 307;ch. 34). Miss Maudie is around the age of the other women with her, meaning she is much older than Scout. However, Miss Maudie does not let this age difference affect the way she sees Scout. Most children receive less respect than adults do from other adults. Miss Maudie on the other hand, gives Scout the same amount of friendship and respect she would have given to any of the other ladies. Because of this, Scout views Miss Maudie as a good person and appreciates her not laughing. The other ladies laughing made Scout feel unwelcomed, which is not something friends do to friends. Miss Maudie doesn’t let Scout’s age change her opinion of Scout and she still is Scout’s