To Kill a Mocking Bird Essay

It is the later years of The Great Depression in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama where a young girl by the name of Jean Louis –called Scout- plays with her brother and best friend. They imagine ways to get their scary and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley, out of his house. But instead decide to re-enact fictional scenes of Boo stabbing his father. As their curious minds think up more and more versions of these little re-enactments, they begin to lose interest and instead turn to the more pressing matters of their small town. But as the plot line unfolds and the details get thinner, Scout needs to find new ways of getting answers. Scout is such a young narrator that the innocence from which she portrays her life adds a humorous tinge to the story. As she is a source comedy, Scout is also given the role of describing the events that make up the intriguing timeline that is To Kill a Mockingbird. Her curiosity gets us, the reader, the needed information to understand the tale she weaves. Harper Lee uses Scout as a leading role we all should follow in To Kill a Mockingbird, a more than innocent and curious little girl who gets the answers she needs. Harper Lee realizes that those who are seen as too young to understand actually know more than given credit for, gaining a high advantage. Scout was one of those individuals. True she didn’t in fact comprehend all certain things, like when Miss Maudie looked over at their snowman and called it a hermaphrodite. Scout thought she had heard “absolute morphadite” (page 68). This is a good example of her young minded innocence. Atticus, Scout’s father, knows that age doesn’t matter when it boils down to knowledge and its pursuit. When Mr. Heck Tate said Scout was too scared to understand what exactly went on (on page 274), Atticus grimly replies “‘You’d be surprised’”, showing he is one of the few people that see the potential in innocent children. There are many people like Atticus who believe children are capable of severe comprehension and can understand a great deal of their surroundings. One such character is Reverend Sykes. At the trial on page 173, Reverend asks Jem kindly to take Scout home, implying that the knowledge discussed during the case was too much for Scout to handle. Jem replies, “I think it’s okay, Reverend, she doesn’t understand it.” This shows that because of Scout’s innocence she is able and permitted to stay and gather more information while at the trial. Another great example of Scout’s innocence is when Calpurnia takes her and Jem to a colored church. This was a perfect time for Scout’s curiosity to run wild and ask questions only a child above suspicion could ask. Someone like Scout also wouldn’t think up any consequences to asking a simple little question. But for the most part, her curiosity just takes over and she can’t control herself from picking the brains of the adults around her, demanding answers. This results in chastisements from Jem. On page 135, Scout remembers to ask Atticus what rape is. Earning, from respect for her question, the definition. Her inquisitiveness yearns for understanding so badly that To Kill a Mockingbird is practically following her mental growth throughout the plot line. As she begins to comprehend and understand, losing some of her childlike innocence, the flame inside her that is curiosity continues to burn. It is no wonder that Harper Lee chose Scout to narrate her story; Scout is a role model. This is how Harper Lee subtly directs us to be more like Scout. Scout walks home one day, realizing she may never see her mysterious neighbor. To satisfy her curiosity, she envisions meeting Boo. “‘Hidy do, Mr. Arthur.’ [she] would say” (page 242). And this could keep her raging hunger for enlightenment in check, for now.