How does Scout develop and mature as the novel progresses?

How does Scout develop and mature as the novel progresses?

Atticus says, "Scout , you're not old enough to understand some things yet"

Scout Finch, who is a six-year-old girl at the beginning of the novel

To Kill a Mocking Bird, is nine by the end of it. The novel, written

by Harper Lee, is written in a very adult style because Scout is

recounting memories of her childhood in Maycomb County, Southern

Alabama. Scout is a very lively, intelligent girl but has a hot

temper, which gets her into a lot of trouble with the adults. Unlike

the typical late nineteenth century American female stereotype, of a

woman staying home sitting on the porch while the man of the house

goes and earns the money, Scout enjoys taking part in boyish

activities with her older brother, Jem, but when she starts school,

she does not just take part in the curricular activities, but also

begins to learn about life and the way her society works. There are

many events in the story that contribute to Scout's learning

experiences, such as fights with Walter Cunningham, reading to Mrs

Dubose, going to church with Calpurnia, the outcome of the Tom

Robinson trial, and meeting social outcasts like Boo Radley and

Dolphus Raymond.

The story is set in the 1930s, where there is racial segregation in

Alabama as a result of the American Civil War and the economy is

corrupt due to the Wall Street crash (this was known as the Great

Depression). At the time that the book was written, in the 1960s, men

like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were fighting in the Civil

Rights Movement for racial equality in the United States. All of these

factors affect the main themes of the novel and the events that occur

within it.

Pride is an important aspect o...

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...ause they could not explain him, they feared

him. This is similar to the situation Scout found herself in with

Dolphus Raymond. He was a white man who married a black woman and

fathered mixed race children. This was deemed unacceptable behaviour

by Maycomb standards and therefore Dolphus pretended to be a drunk. In

that way the people of Maycomb had an excuse for him marrying a black

woman. Scout only realises why he pretends to be drunk when she finds

out that he just sips Coca-Cola all day. She then starts to feel some

sympathy for the people who are victims of racial and social

prejudice.

After learning about Boo Radley and Dolphus Raymond, Scout learns not

to believe everything she hears.

All of these factors have, in their own way, influenced the

development of Scout's ethics and have shown how they affect her,

along with how she reacts to them.