To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis

Katie Wisdom

Mrs.Matteson

English II

11 February 2018 You may have heard the popular saying “never judge a book by its cover,” in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and her brother Jem struggle with this concept. Jem and Scout are encouraged to step into other people’s shoes to gain insight into other’s lives. The kids are exposed to a harsh social understanding while also coming to know and understand the motives behind the people in their community. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, takes on a case to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man accused of raping a white woman which leads to the struggles of the children. Over the course of the book, tolerance and empathy towards others are presented when Calpurnia forces Scout to step into Walter’s shoes, when Jem is angered by his neighbor Mrs. Dubose, and when Scout sees her town from Boo’s point of view. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s perspective of Walter Cunningham changes throughout and makes her a different person. At first, Scout shows her opinion and superiority over Walter by saying, “He ain 't company, Cal, he 's just a Cunningham-” (Lee 33). Scout looks down upon Walter because he is poor and is from a lower social class, acting as if he is less of a person. It is obvious that Scout feels entitled to her opinion, and she has never been corrected or told to act otherwise by Atticus. Furthermore, Scout learns from Calpurnia’s scolding, “Don’t matter who they