Scout Finch In To Kill A Mockingbird

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him,” said Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. The characters of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee soon learn this from the examples of their father, Atticus Finch, or other important characters in their lives like Miss Maudie. Scout Finch, a character who soaks up each bit of knowledge she can learn from her father grows as she learns who she wants to be and how she want to treat people. In the 1930s, prejudice and racial bias were normal in the ways of society, forcing a growing child to choose how they want to live, based on the examples of others. In the beginning of the story, Scout is daring and headstrong, then later becomes curious and considerate,

She was willing to fight anyone who upset her or insulted her family, which she proves by saying, “He made me start out on the wrong foot,” (Lee 30). Soon, claiming that, “Catching Walter Cunningham in the school yard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop,” (30). However, Scout was also very intelligent, but the non acceptance of that at school made her not want to go. Others instructing her stop doing things she loves is very agitating, such as “Now you tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage--” (23) showing that she already knew how to read because of Atticus. Her daring personality was stereotyped as like a boy at the time, and when she is called “a girl”, she sees it as an insult and as an opportunity to prove how much like a boy she can be. One of the most memorable times she was able to prove this was going into the Radley's yard, the creepy neighbor nobody wanted to get near. Her brother, Jem, prompts this motivations by saying, “Scout, I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home-- I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl everyday!” leading Scout to think, “With that, I had no option but to join them,”

The trial, having to do with things that Scout has never thought of before, triggered her curiosity as she realizes there is a lot going on that she doesn’t know about. A questions that comes up is, “What’s rape?” (180). Understanding the issue of the case is the first step to her finding out the rules of society. Atticus is very liberal, in the way that he wants to teach his children to be accepting of others no matter what society thinks of them and to be open to new knowledge. This sort of consideration made Scout into the kind of person who always sees the good in people, and if they are doing something bad, she can remind them that their problems can get better and they can change. This characteristic came in handy when the lynch mob comes for Tom Robinson and Scout subtly reminds one of the members that his problems are not forever and he doesn't need to take it out of Tom by saying, “... entailments are bad an’ all that, but you said not to worry, it takes a long time sometimes… that you all’d ride it out together…” (205-206). The adults around her were stunned to see the intelligence (mentioned earlier) and consideration for someone who was doing the wrong thing, because she knew he can be a good person inside. This trait was not fully developed at the beginning at