English 9
Breyne
Period #4
5/30/13
Scouts Change Over Time Kids these days will believe anything they hear, whether it is through social networks or through their friends. Words are twisted, rumors are made, and then innocent people are punished for crimes and actions they didn’t commit. That is exactly what happened in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about a worn out town named Maycomb, Alabama, that has a lot of racism and equality issues. There are many different types of people including the farmers, the townspeople (people who have better jobs) and teachers. Everybody knows everybody in this town, which really reminds me of West Linn. As we go through life, there are moments where we all have to learn how to stand up for what we believe in, even if we feel embarrassed or shy. Scouts role in To Kill a Mockingbird is a great representation of intelligence; the willing to fight for what is right, and bravery. Scout is said to have learned reading all by herself: “I never deliberately learned to read, but … now that I was compelled to think about it, reading was something that just came to me” (p. 23). Since not many children can read at that age, and particularly don’t learn it without help, this shows that she is an intelligent girl. By fighting boys who are older than her (p. 30) and resisting her father’s orders (p. 204), it shows everyone that Scout is very self-confident and brave: “Catching Walter Cunningham in the school yard game me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by …” (p. 30). Given that she never wants to harm anybody, she is a good-natured person. Scout behaves curious and fascinated concerning Boo Radley.
The trial of Tom Robinson deeply affects Scout. First of all, she is annoyed that citizens of Maycomb, and Mrs. Dubose, call Atticus repeatedly a “nigger-lover”. Even members of her own family, especially the grandkid of her aunt Alexandria, don’t like Atticus’ commitment in the trial and let her feel it (p. 110). When she tries to defend her father, she starts fights with the people mocking her until Atticus asks her to ignore the insults, but she can hardly stay calm. This clearly shows that she is a short-tempered character, willing to fight for her dignity, even though she doesn’t really know what “nigger-lover” means (p. 114).
The result of the trial, Tom Robinson being convicted although Atticus could prove his innocence, shocks her belief in the goodness of mankind. She questioned the attitude of her teacher that was completely against Hitler’s actions against Jews, but had prejudices against black people anyway. Scout understands that there is a lot of evil in the world despite her generally positive view of things. She learns how to find positivity and to deal with racism. Even though it will never go away, you can always do your best to try and make everyone aware of how bad it actually is.
Scout is a generally round, but very dynamic character that is never to shy to surprise the reader. She shows so many characteristics in a person that I think we could all learn from. To Kill a Mockingbird has taught me many things more than just how to stand up to racism, and a few being, to stand up for what you believe in, own up to when you’re wrong, and to find positivity in depressing situations.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Scout is a very unusual little girl, both in her own qualities and in her social position. She is unusually intelligent in many ways that is far more advanced than the other children who she associates herself with for example she learns to read before she is anywhere close to beginning school, and she is unusually confident for her age as you can see from the story she never backs down when it is time for her to fight boys without fear or remorse for their feelings, which is a normal quality for a young man of the area but most certainly not of a young lady, she is also unusually thoughtful she consistently worries about the essential goodness and evil of mankind and its effects on the common man no matter what race or color, and she always tries to act from a highly educated standpoint and with the best intentions for all who are involved. In terms of her social identity, she is unusual for being a tomboy in the prim and proper Southern world where the girls are all expected to have absolutely nothing to do with the life of the immature and annoying young men of the community of Maycomb.…
- 799 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…
- 642 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Harper Lee uses Scout to represent a new generation of people who are willing to push the boundaries of social normalities, fight for justice and accept that “there’s only one type of folk. Folk” even if it means going against the wishes of society. She as well as many other children of the time are being taught to think independently, which creates a sense of hope, as these children are the future forefronts of Maycomb society. This is proven when the verdict at the end of the court case seemed strikingly unfair to Scout, who was able to make herself colour and class blind in order to develop her own understanding of the events occurring in Maycomb. Scout is educated and will promote change in the community along with the other young, educated and colour blind people of Maycomb who have learnt a new and mature way of thinking. And as Maycomb “fears what it doesn’t understand” with children like Scout pushing to tear down the wall of prejudice surrounding Maycomb and understand why it was put there in the first place, fear is diminished and there is hope for a healthier society.…
- 875 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
At school, Scout almost starts a fight with a classmate named Cecil Jacobs after Cecil says that “Scout Finch’s daddy defends niggers.” Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. He knows he cannot expect to win, but he tells Scout that he must argue it to hold on to his sense of justice and self-respect.…
- 3517 Words
- 15 Pages
Better Essays -
To Kill A Mockingbird was and still is one the first novels I read as a teenager, that led me to wonder about society and the judgement's we place on individuals. That it is easy to assume and believe the rumors, rather than being the template in pursuit of factuality. Scout was that person. She was a very small child and when you don't know or understand something due to your age, you have to believe what others do and say is in fact, acceptance. She had no choice but to accept what she was told. As the story goes on, Scout listens and learns, much more than she could have imagined.…
- 779 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird depicts the childhood and coming of age of a young girl named Jean-Louise “Scout” Finch. The main focus of this novel is the trial of an African-American man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman, and Scout’s father, Atticus, who has been assigned to defend him. Written during the Civil Rights Movement, Lee’s purpose is to highlight the racial prejudice that had permeated throughout the Southern culture. She achieves this in the trial scenes, where she embeds Atticus’s strong dialogue into the context of the vivid imagery she presents of the trial.…
- 615 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
It must be acknowledged that there were several negative outcomes of Atticus’ decision to take on the case of Tom Robinson. For instance, when it is first discovered by the people of Maycomb that Mr. Finch has assumed the black man’s case, even their children lash out against Scout and Jem, nearly causing a fight in the schoolyard as a result (Lee 77). However, Atticus uses this as a teaching moment for his children, which is then imparted along to the vast number of readers who have studied the pages of To Kill A Mockingbird, learning the same invaluable lesson that Scout does, to “hold [one’s] head high and keep [one’s] fists down” and continue to stand and fight for what is right and just (Lee 78). Furthermore, some could question the wisdom…
- 261 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Atticus , her father , was defending a Negro named Tom Robinson and everyone that was racist would disagree with her father’s actions, but Scout who looked at her father liked he would never do anything to make the community mad at him. Scout…
- 417 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
26) Since Atticus is representing Tom Robinson, the kids are getting picked on. Atticus gets called a "nigger lover "by the town and even his own relatives. Francis tell scout that her grandma says Atticus is a "nigger lover quote and he's ruining the family. Then Scout gets to a fight with him only to be at fault in the end. Cecil Jacob says that Atticus is "defending a nigger" for the whole school to hear and Scout was about to get into a fight until she remembered Atticus was going to scold her. Atticus asked where Scout learned that word and told her if he wasn't defending Tom then Jem and Scout would no longer have to mind him. Mrs. Dubose ranted at Jem and Scout about how Atticus was no more use than the niggers and the people he's working for. The day after this rant, Jem went to her house and cut all the camellia bushes.…
- 762 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Jem and Scout encounter contradistinctive prospects when they are judged for what their father does, and how they act. Scout witnesses what it’s like to see her father be considered “trash like the people he works for,” as a result of Atticus defending a black man. In a different situation Scout wants to show Cecil Jacobs shouldn’t call her parent a bad name. “and I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be.” Scout is taking pressure from the trial, Mrs. Dubose comments, what she shouldn’t do.…
- 977 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
To begin with, Atticus demonstrates empathy towards African Americans when he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, who is being falsely accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus explains to Scout that everyone is equal despite their skin color and is the reason why he is defending Tom. Also, Atticus defends Tom because he is trying to fight for equality in his town Maycomb that is known for great discrimination. Atticus understands the fear and pain Tom Robinson and his family feel about the case, regardless if they are African American.…
- 583 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, is an honest white man who is defending an innocent Negro man, although he is frowned upon by others. The white folks of Maycomb County think that they have a higher social status than the black community, and that the views of a Negro does not matter. The most blatant example of racism in the novel is when Tom Robinson was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Although the people of the town know that Tom Robinson was innocent, the jury still saw him as guilty because he is an African American man, and would never be able to win over a white man. This jury ruling causes both those who encouraged Robinson’s conviction and those who were convinced of his innocence to question their views of justice and fairness. This decision forces Scout and Jem to confront the fact that the beliefs that Atticus has taught them cannot always be accustomed with the reality of the world and the evils of human nature. Even their neighbor, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, who the children are scared of, is racist and calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" to his children. The children despise of her and “hated her. If she was on the porch when [they] passed, [they] would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what [they] would amount to when [they] grew up, which was always nothing”…
- 855 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Scout learns that certain people in town are feared, distrusted or hated because of their skin color, personal decisions, or rank on the social hierarchy, also known as class warfare. Colored people don’t receive as much respect as white people because they are lower in the social hierarchy than the white people who are on the top. By stepping into the shoes of Boo Radley, Walter Cunningham, and Dolphus Raymond, Scout learns a lot about class warfare. Tom Robinson is a black man who is falsely accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell. The jury finds him guilty, and Scout knows that it was wrong. Her father, Atticus, was Tom’s lawyer, so she was able to experience each step of the trial. Arthur “Boo” Radley was feared by all of Maycomb because he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors when he was younger. Scout constantly wonders what it would feel like to be trapped in your house for so many years and be all alone to understand why Boo does not have great social skills and is quite shy. He left many things for the children in the hole of a tree, but expected nothing in return. Scout and Jem both recognized that he was not a bad man, and just needed some friends. Dolphus Raymond was the town dunk. Actually, he wasn’t. He drank Coca-Cola out of a paper bag to make everyone think that he was drunk. Dill and Scout got the opportunity to talk to him during the trail, when they decided to take a…
- 1211 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of life in the 1930’s from Scout Finch’s point of view. In any story there are problems and situations that nee to be dealt with. Atticus, being a defense attorney, shows Scout a first hand view of what really goes on in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama. This sparks her curiosity in her father’s newest case, which is Tom Robinson a middle aged black man with a wife and kids. He was arrested under the accusations of beating and raping Mayella Ewell a white female of the age of 19. Many don’t realize that segregation was beginning to heat up in the South during the 30’s, but that is the cause of tense controversy in Tom Robinson’s case.…
- 435 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Discrimination is a prominent subject throughout the story as well as in today's world. Sadly, racism and stereotypes are still ongoing events, but in a different genre. A good example is the African American community. In the 1900’s it was more about rules discriminating against African Americans. In today's world, everything is about how aggressive or suspicious that young, black adult looks. Each category of racism lacks the respect and justice they deserve. Just like the modern day, Maycomb needs to find the dignity to respect others. The dysfunctional town goes through many instances ranging from trust and courage to standing up for what is right. Through Scout, the reader witnesses discrimination against gender, class, and race.…
- 1033 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays