Internal Conflict In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Something’s wrong with me, it’s something about me. It has to be because all these people cannot have changed” (Go Set a Watchman 239). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is considered a literary masterpiece among many. It’s forward thinking ideas makes it a profound novel for it’s time. Another book by Harper Lee is Go Set a Watchman, printed 55 years later. The novel is the first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird that Lee had sent into the publishing company. Here, you can read an article on Harper Lee’s publisher. There are many differences between the characters of TKAM and the same ones in GSAW. One that stood out the most is the difference between Scout’s internal conflict in To Kill a Mockingbird and in Go Set a Watchman. In TKAM, Scout

struggled with understanding the racism in her town, while in GSAW, she struggles with understanding how the people around her have changed their views, especially Atticus. In both books, Jean Louise matures in many ways due to her internal conflicts. At the end of To Kill a Mockingbird she learns that racism is an ugly aspect of her town and in Go Set a Watchman she learns that people won’t always stay the same and how to accept that. This contributes to the coming of age theme in both books since internal conflicts helps Scout/Jean Louise become a more mature person.
Throughout both novels, internal conflict is consistent, mainly in Scout/Jean Louise since the stories are in her perspective.

The start of her internal struggle begins with Cecil Jacobs. “[Cecil Jacobs] had announced to the schoolyard the day before that [Atticus] defended niggers. I denied it, but told Jem. ‘What’d he mean sayin’ that?’ I asked… ‘Ask Atticus, he’ll tell you.’” (To Kill a Mockingbird 85). Scout then goes on to ask Atticus, “‘Do you defend niggers, Atticus?’... ‘Of course I do. Don’t say nigger… That’s common.’... ‘Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus?’ ‘Of course they do, Scout.’ ‘Then why did Cecil say you defended niggers? He made it sound like you were runnin’ a still.’... ‘I’m simply defending a Negro- his name’s Tom Robinson’” (86). Here, Scout didn’t understand that if all lawyers defended Negroes, than why did Cecil Jacobs announce to the schoolyard like it was a bad thing? She begins to see how her town has racism in it and what racism is, such as with Cecil Jacobs saying that Atticus defending a black man is

wrong.
The beginnings of Scout’s internal conflict start here; in addition to this, Scout begins to understand the racism in her town when Atticus is about to be attacked by the mob. “‘All right, Mr.Finch, get ‘em outa here,’ someone growled. ‘You got fifteen seconds to get ‘em outa here.’”(173). And also, “The full meaning of the night’s events hit me and I began crying” (177). That night, Scout had seen most of Maycomb’s men gathered in a mob to possibly attack Atticus because he is defending Tom Robinson. Scout doesn’t understand until the next day, but this shows how she is maturing and beginning to understand how her town is. After this and other incidents, Scout is able to have the skills to begin to cope with her internal conflict, such as, with Miss Gates.
“‘Miss Gates is a nice lady, ain’t she?’ ‘Why sure,’ said Jem… ‘She hates Hitler a lot…’... ‘she went on today about how bad it was him treatin’ the Jews like that. Jem, it’s not right to persecute anybody, is it? I mean have mean thoughts about anybody, even, is it?’ ‘Gracious no, Scout’... ‘Well, coming out of the courthouse that night Miss Gates was-she was goin’ down the steps… she was talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home’” (282-283). This is one of the final pieces that is key to Scout’s maturing and dealing with her internal conflict. It shows how she has grown since the beginning of the novel. It shows how she is able to identify when something isn’t right with her town.
Internal conflict is present in both novels; however, the conflicts are not the same.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout struggled with understanding the racism in her town, while in Go Set a Watchman, Jean Louise deals with racism in her family and people close to her. Jean Louise’s internal conflict begins when she finds a particular pamphlet in Atticus’s papers titled “The Black Plague”. Within the pamphlet, many reasons were given as to why whites were supposedly superior to blacks. After reading it, Jean Louise is upset and confronts her aunt. “‘What is this thing?’ she said… ‘Something of your father’s’” (Go Set a Watchman 148). Jean Louise goes on to talk at her aunt about how terrible the pamphlet is ending with, “‘It’s just that I never knew you went in for salacious reading material, Aunty’” (149). In a hurry, Jean Louise runs off to the citizens’ council meeting just to see what was going on. She couldn’t believe that Atticus and Hank were at it. She thinks, “Atticus and Hank were pulling something, they were there merely to keep an eye on things-Aunty said Atticus was on the board of directors. She was wrong. It was all a mistake; Aunty got mixed up on her facts sometimes…” (152). Jean Louise had always thought the best of Atticus and when Aunt Alexandra had told her about the council meeting, Jean Louise went into denial as she thinks that it was a mistake. That Atticus is only there to observe, maybe even put a stop to it. This is where her internal struggle

begins, with trying to understand and cope with how the people she’s known for a great deal of her life have seemingly changed overnight. As Jean Louise is trying to see the good in Atticus, a particular court case arises that makes her rethink.
“‘Of course we’ll take it [court case involving Calpurnia’s grandson].’ … ‘Now, isn’t better for us to stand up with [Zeebo] in court than to have than to have him fall into the wrong hands?’... ‘NAACP-paid lawyers are standing around like buzzards’ … ‘So that’s why I [Atticus] say we’ll take this case if he wants us’” (212-213). As seen in To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout had expected Atticus to take this case because it was Calpurnia’s grandson and out of the goodness of his heart. Instead, Atticus takes the case to prevent a black lawyer from taking it. After hearing this, Jean Louise thinks, “Who were the people Calpurnia’s tribe turned to first and always? … not long ago, Atticus would have done it simply from his goodness, he would have done it for Cal” (214). This shows how Jean Louise is starting to see how much Maycomb has changed, even her own father. With that, she sees how Aunt Alexandra has become more racist.
“‘All they do is bite the hands that feed ‘em. No sir, not anymore- they can shift themselves, now’[Said by Aunt Alexandra in response to Jean Louise visiting Calpurnia earlier and what her views were on black people]... My Sainted Aunt is talking like Mr. Grady O’ Hanlon, who left his job to devote his full time to the preservation of segregation… My aunt is a hostile stranger, my Calpurnia won’t have anything to do with me, Hank is insane and Atticus… Why doesn’t their flesh creep?... Everything I have ever taken for right and wrong these people have taught me” (238-239). In both novels, Scout/Jean Louise is dealing with racism in one form or another, but the biggest change from TKAM to GSAW is that she has to deal with the people close to her being outwardly racists versus understanding the racism in Maycomb.
The internal conflict in both To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman help to create the coming of age theme in both novels. Scout/Jean Louise learned to understand changes in her town that she never knew, such as, racism when she was younger and extremely different values in her family members. Through internal conflict Scout learns to understand the racism in her town and how it can affect her; comparatively, when she is older, Jean Louise learns to understand how the people closest to her have changed over the years. This is how Scout/Jean Louise has grown up in both books. Learning to cope with changes in your environment is extremely important in general. Today, people have to deal with family losses and financial difficulties. These are only some of the difficulties of today. Learning to understand and deal with problems are a part of life and the experiences can help you grow as a person.