To Kill A Mockingbird: Scout Analysis

The challenges and hard times we face in life is what shapes us in life and in the book To Kill a Mocking one of the main characters, Scout, comes face to face with the wrongs that occur in the world every day and is forced to grow up a lot faster than most. In this paper, I will talk about these events and how they helped to shape the person she becomes by the end of the novel and film.

From the beginning of the book, it would be an understatement to say that Scout isn’t your typical young girl. Scout is a fearless and very outspoken “tom girl” who is always challenging and questioning her surroundings. This is large because of the way that Atticus has raised her and her brother Jem. He gives them the space they need to grow with his hands-off parenting style, allowing them to be themselves. At the beginning of the book, Scout is a young girl who has not yet seen how cruel people can be.

The way Scout looks at people is something that changes a lot throughout the book. In the beginning, she looks at Arthur “Boo” Radley as being an object but by the end of the book, she is defending him in any way she can. She learns that you can’t judge a person or label them into a group until you really know them and their story. Harper Lee says, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough’ (321) Scout is able to understand this and come to the conclusion that people live different lives and you never know that might affect them. Her father, Atticus, is also great at breaking things down for Scout so that she’s able to understand these things clearly at such a young age. Many people aren’t able to get to their kids but Scout and Atticus have a great connection throughout the entire book.

Another event that took place that helped shape Scout was when Calpurnia took them to church. At first, they got singled out by a member and told that they have no business in being there. Lulu, the one who told them that is later told that their father is the one defending Tom Robinson in the case. I believe that Scout grows as a person here because she is able to see that no matter a person’s skin color everyone can have an opinion, but even with that being said if you’re a good person and do the right thing you can be accepted by anyone even in the toughest of times. She also got to feel what it was like to not be accepted strictly for what color your skin was and not many white people around this time were a victim of this. People do and say hurtful things but sometimes it’s not until they have been treated the same way that they realize how wrong it is and I think in this scene Scout realizes its wrong even though she had never done it.

Tom Robinsons trial, who was a black man unfairly accused and convicted of rape was the event with the biggest effect on scout. Scout is forced to a sad realization of social inequality at the age of five. Seeing this and her small-town racist ways while being able to take in and acknowledge what’s going on she’s forced to almost pick a side. Thankfully she goes with what she knows best and that’s to be a good human. Like almost all of her influence, this came from her Dad. Atticus is one of the only people in the town that stands up for Tom Robinson and even defends him knowing that the jury will convict him no matter what is presenting. To me, this just shows how having a good role model or someone to look up to really helps people get their core values and with Scout being around five at the time, it’s one of the best times for her to be finding herself and how she will look at the people and events taking place around her. This will be huge for Scout in later developing to a young woman.

In the novel Scouts takes huge leaps in maturing from a little girl to what might still look like a little girl but someone who has seen and been though more than most. She handles everything about as good as she could and honestly didn’t get enough credit in the book, because the situations she was put in and the things she saw are not normal for any age especially hers and for her to handle it the way she did is very impressive.