Scout: Lessons that Lead to Maturity

Scout’s Lessons That Make Her More Mature Ones parents and teachers usually try to teach one something one doesn’t want to know. One should listen next time for it might an important lesson. Like ones parents or teachers, the adults in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird try to teach Scout/one that may be important. One lesson learned is to face ones problems. Another is to respect everyone no matter how they differ. A lesson taught is to stand up for what one believes in. Therefore, lessons learned from childhood experiences help children make more mature decisions later. The lesson of facing ones fears pays off for Scout in the end. After Scout’s unpleasant first day of school, she tries to convince her father, Atticus, to allow her to quit school. They begin the conversation and end with a compromise. Atticus suggests, “If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have” (Lee 31). The lesson learned is to face ones problems or fears. Atticus does an excellent job of compromising with Scout to get her to face her problem. This lesson is important to know because it helps one move on in life. Before Scout found the chewing gum for the first time, the narrator talked about how she was learning the Dewy Decimal System in class. She states, “The reminder of my school days were no more auspicious than the first” (Lee 32). When the narrator says “school days”, she means the other days of school that she would have been at home if she had gotten her way. The outcome is that she learned new things in class and she grew as a person. This is one example of how children are highly influenced by adults. Not being prejudiced truly makes for a better, kinder person. While Walter Cunningham was over for dinner, he drenched his plate in syrup. Scout made fun of him for that. Calpurnia pulled her aside so she could speak with Scout privately. Scout tells Calpurnia that Walter doesn’t count as company because he is poor.

Cited: Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1995.