Jean Louise (Scout) Finch begins the novel as a curious and smart six year old and progresses into a mature and self-aware nine year old by the end. Sometimes the narrations of the important events surrounding her aren’t accurate. Scout is still a child, so it’s understandable for some actions or words to be misconstrued. Her innocence allows readers of the book a chance to see the events and characters in the novel clearly.
Before the trial Atticus goes to sit outside the jail where Tom Robinson is being held to look out for him. Jem, Dill, and Scout follow and watch a group of men approach Atticus. Scout wants to see what he will do, so she runs to see him. Ending up in the middle of the crowd, she says, “I sought once more for a familiar face, and at the center of the semi-circle I found one. ‘Hey, Mr. Cunningham.’ ” (Chap. 15) Scout does not realize that she has just put herself in danger, and proceeds to attempt to talk to the only known face in the crowd, Mr. Cunningham’s. She doesn’t understand that the crowd was really a mob the was coming to hurt Tom Robinson. For that minute, she shifted the men’s focus to a
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A woman approached Cal and said that the white children weren’t welcome there. Cal stood up for them and they entered the church. Scout didn’t understand why there were no hymn books, and was even more confused when Cal told her that most of the folks in the church couldn’t read. She had been sheltered from the harsh reality by Atticus for so long that she couldn’t comprehend why black people were being treated differently. Then she asked Calpurnia if she could visit her house sometime. At that period in time, a white child going to the black neighborhood to visit the help was a disgrace to the family. The fact that Scout didn’t think about the social consequences of her actions shows how she hasn’t yet been tainted by the views of that
Jean Louise (Scout) is the Narrator in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we see the whole story from her eyes. The book starts off with Scout as a six year old girl who is going into the 1sr grade. By the end of the novel she is in third grade and eight years old. With age comes maturity and Scout is a perfect example of how a character can mature over time. Scouts age affects the way she views the world around her and her understanding of what is normal.
Scout was raised a different way than other children in the 1930’s. She doesn’t think defending an African American man was terrible when Atticus takes on the job of defending an African American. Scout sees nothing wrong with defending Negros, as Scout states “Don’t all Lawyers defend Negros’ (Lee 100). Scout thinks all Lawyers defend Negros, in her mind there is nothing wrong and she wasn’t raised to disrespect or treat Negros a certain way.
RMockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird"( Lee, 93). The mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird represents many forms of innocence. Tom Robinson has been discriminated by the color of his skin and has not hurt anyone.
When Scout, Jem and Dill followed Atticus to the jail to see what he was doing, they hid behind a bush and saw a bunch of unknown men arrive and surround Atticus, but their was one man that Scout did noticed that she has seen his face before. Scout jumped out of the bush ran through the men to Atticus. She recognizes Mr. Cunningham, the father of Walter that they had over for lunch the other day. She tried talking to them so nothing bad would happen to Atticus especially if she was there. “ Atticus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about what you were interested in.”(205)
After her school performance showing off what Maycomb has to offer, she and Jem get attacked by Bob Ewell, who wanted to get back at Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Scout later has to walk Boo Radley home after he helped Jem and her get away from Mr. Ewell, and she starts to look at things differently. “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.”
Every person enters this world with the same level of innocence. Whether that innocence is kept throughout one’s life depends on their specific circumstances. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic novel by Harper Lee, mockingbirds are symbolic of people who “don’t do one thing but sing their heart out for us” (Lee 119). In other words, mockingbirds are people who are innocent and defenseless, but their innocence is affected by the evil deeds of others. Dill Harris’s innocence is lost when he witnesses the inequality during the trial, identifying him as a mockingbird.
She must express her individuality in her beliefs about all people being equal. During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus proclaims "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white.” In this trial they are stereotyping black men with things such as not being able to be trusted around women, which is the basis of the trial. Scout, the protagonist who is designed to come across as innocent, youthful and virtuous, does not fully understand the prejudice against people of color or why they cannot be trusted around women. Scout appears to be the age where she can understand a person’s actions based off of what they really are, not what they are supposed to be.
In spite of Scout’s inability to fully comprehend the significance of what Atticus is doing for Tom, she readies herself to defend Atticus, which ultimately portrays that she does not regard society’s expectations on how she should
Scout is a very outspoken girl throughout the book. This is obvious to see in (lee 112) “ she called me a whore lady and jumped on me, is that true scout, said uncle jack. I reckson so.” Scout is in trouble she does not care she still chooses to smart off. Another way
When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.
An innocent perspective of a child has the potential to alter society's beliefs. The unique voice of a child has the ability to change humanity's preconceived ideas as they have not been corrupted by society's prejudice. Harper lee explores this notion within her novel "To Kill A Mocking Bird" through the protagonist Scout, who is a child growing up in the southern states of the U.S.A. During the novel Scout is oblivious to the prejudice that is present in the community around her. Scout is symbolic of the innocence of children and their ability to guide the way to a less discriminatory society. Colloquial language when Scouts teenage cousin said "it aint your fault Atticus is a nigger lover".
This quote shows that Scout just wanted to talk to Mr. Cunningham so he would recognize her and she took Atticus’ advice to talk about the other person instead of herself. It also shows that Scout was committed to make Mr. Cunningham to recognize her and help him notice her instead of Atticus. Another reason Mr. Cunningham made the mob leave was because he realized it was not worth the fight. After Scout talked about Mr. Cunningham’s entailments she realized that Mr. Cunningham recognized her, then Scout said, “Then he did a peculiar thing.
Scout’s innocence and bravery manage to make the men leave. Despite feeling intimidated by all of the looks she received from the men, she still found the courage to talk to Mr. Cunnignahm. In the end, her bravery and ability to stand up to the men unintentionally save the lives of Atticus and Tom Robinson. In addition, Scout also expresses her bravery when she fights Cecil Jacobs. Everyone learns that Atticus is appointed as a lawyer for Tom Robinson’s case and the people of Maycomb are not happy about it.
Think back to when you were little kid around 7 or so and you had no worries about life or anything. All you would think about is candy and toys and nothing about the world of adults. No worries of the weather or what the grown ups would talk about. Scout’s childhood innocence takes a turn from her care free days to the real world of racism and bad people. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout witnesses the trial of Tom Robinson and how racism is taught to her unknowingly from it.
Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him.