How Does Scout Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

Characters in a book not only tell the story, but teach the reader a lesson. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that exhibits racism and gives the readers a taste of what it was like in the 1930’s. One of the several major characters of this book is Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout. She matured greatly because of women characters such as Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, and her Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout teaches all readers the lesson of how it is important to have a motherly figure in your life; she does so through possessing the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot tempered.

First off, Scout is a very curious, young girl. Her curiosity drives her to do things that do not always seem to be the best of ideas, for example, “I stood on tiptoe, and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum minus their outer wrappers”(44). She had found gum with no wrappers inside of a tree, and decided to eat it with no second thoughts. Scout

also questions many things such as the reason she goes to school with people who talk a way that her father, Atticus, does not want her to talk. Her mind runs a millions miles per minute; she is constantly thinking and asking questions because she wonders a lot. Being curious means to be eager to try new things as well as wanting to learn new things, “It was when I was absorbed with plans to visit Calpurnia’s house-I was curious, interested: I wanted to be her “company,” to see how she lived, who her friends were”(300). Scout is always willing to familiar herself with different experiences, such as going with Calpurnia, the family maid, to her house. Calpurnia encourages Scout’s curiosity, but also teaches her that not everything she is curious about, means that the words coming out of her mouth is respectful.
Another trait that Scout obtains is being tomboy.

She likes to play with her brother and friend suggesting, “Let’s roll in the tire”(49). Girls who are tomboy often like to do such things because it is fun for them. Moreover, Scout is rarely seen in anything else besides her usual clothing; she would rather be in her overalls than be more like a lady. This is known by her Aunt Alexandra, the main person who pushes Scout to wear dresses; she brings Scout her overalls when her and Jem come home after Mr. Ewell, a townfolk, attacked them. Tomboys do not like to do girly things including wearing certain types of clothing, “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”(108). Scout prefers pants over dresses, showing that she is tomboy. Possessing this trait causes Aunt Alexandra to attempt to teach her niece to be more of a lady, which Scout did learn to do; resulting with her maturing a little bit

more.