An Analysis Of Scout's Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a novel set in the United States during the 1930's. This novel deals with the hardships of growing up, among other important themes. Scout, the main character in the book, underwent many challenges during her early life that resulted in her maturing at a young age. Scout learned the meaning of racism, courage, and tolerance (comprehension).

As people grow in life, they mature and change. In the novel , To Kill a Mockingbird ,by Harper Lee, Scout, the main character, matures as the book continues. Slowly but surely, Scout learns to control her explosive temper, to refrain from fistfights, and to respect Calpurnia, their maid, and to really learn her value to the family. Scout simply changes because she matures, and she also changes because Atticus, her father, asks her to.

Scout sees that Miss Maudie does not believe in rumors, and it proves Miss Maudie a very upright person. She also adds later on, “‘No child…that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did…’” (61). Scout finds this concept unfathomable, because it contradicts everything she ever heard about Boo Radley. However, because she regards Miss Maudie so highly, Scout begins having a new perspective on things after this point. Even though she still takes parts in various situations when with Jem and Dill attempt communicating with Boo, she thinks more before acting, and participates only so she avoids teasing from Jem rather than with the intention of humiliating Boo. While not participating at all would display greater maturity, the fact that she thinks more before acting and takes more things into consideration shows that Miss Maudie does indeed have an affect on her. It illustrates Scout’s developing character, as she no longer judges Boo Radley, and she learns from Miss Maudie that she should not judge any one, but rather try understanding them before criticizing them.

To begin with, the first incident takes place when they visit Scout’s Aunt Alexandra. Scout recalls a memory, which she remembers as “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.” This shows me that even though her aunt argues that Scout needs to act more like a lady now, Scout denies this and is satisfied with how she dresses. In addition, Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to spend her time playing with “small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace.”(Lee, 83) Scout’s aunt tries to convince her to becoming accustomed to activities that will encourage her towards becoming a ‘proper’ lady

Though Scout greatly disliked Mrs Dubose, Atticus showed Scout her courage, and taught her to do what she thought was right, even if it was difficult and distressing. "I wanted you to see what real courage is... It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she

Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem, plays an immensely important role in the children’s maturing by teaching them valuable life lessons that benefit their character and knowledge of how to live in the world. When telling Jem and Scout why Mrs. Dubose acts the way she does, and how he thinks she is one of the most courageous women he knows, he says, “Courage is when you know your licked before you begin but you begin anyway”(128). The children learn that Mrs. Dubose was not a mean, old, wicked lady; she was a person trying to get rid of an addiction, even though it would cause her pain to do so. This entire conversation shows Scout and Jem that people are not always what one perceives them to be, and that one needs to understand why someone does the things they do before they judge

Later in the novel when both the children have matured since the beginning, Scout has found herself involved in the ladies meeting by Aunt Alexandra and realises what it is like to be a lady. After hearing the horrid announcement of Tom Robinson’s death, Scout sees how affected by the news Aunt Alexandra is she till retains her lady-like manners as she has company. Scout thinks, “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” Scout allows herself

Understandably, Scout is quite offended by her aunt’s criticism, but Atticus assures his daughter that she is just fine the way she is. Nevertheless, Scout can’t help but be bothered by the fact that her aunt does not appreciate her personality. Mrs. Dubose, of course, comments on Scout’s tomboyish behaviour. She is malcontented with the way that Scout acts and, as always, makes it known. “what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You’ll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn’t change your ways – a Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Café – hah!” (135). Mrs. Dubose has been described as “the meanest old woman who ever lived” so it is not surprising that she would judge Scout like this. Regardless of her character, it is unseemly of her to claim that Scout will amount to nothing. The fact that Scout does not usually wear dresses or drink tea like a typical lady in her time, does not mean she won’t succeed in life. She is a strong-willed, clever girl, who is capable of impressive feats. Mrs. Dubose is wrong in making assumptions about Scout’s future based on the fact that she wears overalls.

Throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout begins to mature in many different ways. Besides her physical appearance that starts to develop, she begins to control her anger, she matures throughout the Tom Robinson trial, and she conquers some of her fears.

Dubose. For instance, Scout was amazed when her father talked to her without being nervous or getting caught up on her words. “ It was times like this when I thought my father who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived”(pg.134). When Scout sees Atticus talking to Mrs. Dubose with so much respect and after what she just said about him, she thinks that he is very brave. Later on in the novel Scout finds out why Mrs. Dubose is so mean, it’s because she was addicted to morphine in her younger years, making it hard on her and others, then Scout realises that she is also very courageous, because she is fighting the need to have the morphine.

The transition from innocence to experience is a major theme in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, The character of Scout, on particular, portrays this theme exceptionally well. At the beginning of the novel, Scout is an innocent, good-hearted five-year-old child who has no experience with the evils of the world, as the novel progresses, Scout has her first contact with evil and she begins to mature. By the end of the novel her persperctive on people changed from that of a child to that of a grown-up.

In conclusion in to kill a mockingbird scout at first judged people on their appearance but when she puts herself into their shoes she learns what they go through. She learns not to judge people so quick on how they look or how they act. Like dolphus raymond,walter cunningham,mayella ewell,boo radley and mrs.dubose . she judge them too quick she always thought and seen them through a certain way but that changes when she learns what they go through and what happen to them. She starts to understand and put herself into their

Dubose was one of the examples Atticus used to teach scout how to be empathetic. Scout herself described Mrs. Dubose as “plain hell” (Lee 7). Every single time Jem, Scouts older brother, and Scout passed Mrs. Dubose’s house on their way to the city they would be verbally harassed. One day when Jem and scout were on their way back from the city they passed Mrs. Dubose’s house and Jem got fed up by all her rude and unnecessary comments so he ruined her garden. As a punishment she asked that Jem come to read to her every day after school. Although “Jem and I (Scout) hated her (Mrs. Dubose)” (133), Atticus still made them both go to read a book to her every day because he “wanted you (Them) to see what real courage is” (146). What the kids don’t know is that Mrs. Dubose is actually a morphine addict who was coming clean right before her death. Mrs. Dubose could have just been on medications until she died but she wanted to “die beholden to nothing and nobody” (146) which is what Atticus wanted to show the kids. Even though she was considered an “Old-hell devil” (145) she was actually just fighting a greater battle which was making her come across as unpleasant and rude. Scout starts to realize how she misjudged Mrs. Dubose which helps her become more

Dubose, an elderly woman, is very influential to Scout’s maturity by teaching her about real courage. Mrs. Dubose has an addiction to morphine and wants to die without having any of it in her system. She has Jem and Scout read to her as a distraction from her suffering. Atticus wants Scout to go with Jem to read, so that she would be able to understand what real courage and perseverance is. “I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.

One’s childhood innocence is never lost, it simply plants the seed for the flower of maturity to bloom. It seems that almost every adult chooses to either forget or ignore this childhood vulnerability. But ironically, it was this quality that pushed them into adulthood in the first place. At the peak of their childhood, their post climactic innocence allows room for the foundation of maturity to begin to grow. In the sleepy southern town of Maycomb this is exactly what happens to eight years old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. In To Kill a Mockingbird the character Scout is forced to surround herself with a very adult situation, when a trial comes to the small town of Maycomb. The trial raises the question that shakes the entire town up, what