Character Analysis Of Scout In Harper Lee's Novel 'To Kill A Mockingbird'
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
Understanding why people do the things they do is not easy, especially when you are young. Little kids don’t really think about other people’s feelings or the causes of their actions because when you are young, your whole world consists of you. This concept is one that Scout learns in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Scout transforms from an ignorant tomboy into a sympathetic lady, due to learning about empathy.
At the beginning of the novel, Scout is stubborn and mean. She also seems to be a tenacious arguer. Scout displays this trait when she says, “You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline” (16). Scout doesn’t stop defending or explaining Walter Cunningham even though Miss Caroline …show more content…
An example of someone Scout was able to understand better would be Boo Radley. Scout is narrating, and says, “Feeling slightly unreal, I lead him to the chair farthest from Atticus and Mr. Tate. It was in a deep shadow. Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark” (231). Scout was able to use empathy to see and understand that Boo wanted to sit by himself, and why he wanted to sit by himself. Another example would be when Boo asks Scout to walk him home, she narrates “He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching us from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do” (236). Scout was able to put herself in Miss Stephanie Crawford’s shoes and think to herself: if I was Miss Stephanie Crawford, I would probably gossip about seeing Scout walk Mr. Arthur home. So, Scout changed the way the situation looked. Making it look like Mr. Arthur was escorting Scout down the sidewalk would lead to good gossip, if any. Even though Scout was just attacked, she was lady-like enough to remember that she could be strong enough in this situation to use …show more content…
By the end of the novel she is definitely empathetic, and definitely a lady. Scout didn’t want to be a lady at the beginning of the book because she thought that being a lady just meant you had to wear makeup and dresses and drink tea. At the end of the book, Scout realizes that being a lady is about being strong, understanding, caring and independent. This development would not have been possible without Atticus there to teach Scout. Because Scout learns this lesson, it is clear that Harper Lee intended for her audience to understand
Understanding why people do the things they do is not easy, especially when you are young. Little kids don’t really think about other people’s feelings or the causes of their actions because when you are young, your whole world consists of you. This concept is one that Scout learns in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Scout transforms from an ignorant tomboy into a sympathetic lady, due to learning about empathy.
At the beginning of the novel, Scout is stubborn and mean. She also seems to be a tenacious arguer. Scout displays this trait when she says, “You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline” (16). Scout doesn’t stop defending or explaining Walter Cunningham even though Miss Caroline …show more content…
An example of someone Scout was able to understand better would be Boo Radley. Scout is narrating, and says, “Feeling slightly unreal, I lead him to the chair farthest from Atticus and Mr. Tate. It was in a deep shadow. Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark” (231). Scout was able to use empathy to see and understand that Boo wanted to sit by himself, and why he wanted to sit by himself. Another example would be when Boo asks Scout to walk him home, she narrates “He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching us from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do” (236). Scout was able to put herself in Miss Stephanie Crawford’s shoes and think to herself: if I was Miss Stephanie Crawford, I would probably gossip about seeing Scout walk Mr. Arthur home. So, Scout changed the way the situation looked. Making it look like Mr. Arthur was escorting Scout down the sidewalk would lead to good gossip, if any. Even though Scout was just attacked, she was lady-like enough to remember that she could be strong enough in this situation to use …show more content…
By the end of the novel she is definitely empathetic, and definitely a lady. Scout didn’t want to be a lady at the beginning of the book because she thought that being a lady just meant you had to wear makeup and dresses and drink tea. At the end of the book, Scout realizes that being a lady is about being strong, understanding, caring and independent. This development would not have been possible without Atticus there to teach Scout. Because Scout learns this lesson, it is clear that Harper Lee intended for her audience to understand