Scout's Moral Development In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story about prejudice, childhood and more. It tells the story of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her life in 1960s Maycomb, Alabama. Scout, daughter of Atticus Finch and sister to Jem Finch, is a young child who lives freely in Maycomb. In the novel, she experiences many events, from the meeting of her best friend Dill to seeing a black man’s unjust trial. With the help of other characters and Atticus’s wise words, Scout grows as a character throughout the entire novel. Unlike the other characters, Scout’s moral development was one of the greatest in the story. She starts off as a young, naive and prideful child and grows to become an understanding and empathetic young woman. Using Kohlberg’s stages

of moral development, the reader sees her change in decision-making and personality.

She starts off in level one and two and gradually makes her way to level three. Her voyage takes the entire novel to complete but is worth it in the end.

Scout’s moral development is influenced by pivotal events in the story. In the beginning of the novel, Scout and Jem adventure their neighborhood as little kids. Her actions are reckless and noted by Atticus on page 116 when he states, “I’m not worried about Jem keeping his head, but Scout’d just as soon jump on someone as look at him if her pride’s at stake...” At this moment Scout is in level one of Kohlberg’s stages. She exerts a desire to do as she pleases and only follows rules under certain authority figures to avoid punishment. For example, on page 45, Jem says, “You don’t ‘n’ I’ll tell Calpurnia on you!” to Scout. Scout obeys Jem to avoid her punishment. However, in chapter two and three she is against Miss Caroline and the school system because she knows she does not want to be there no matter what. She also goes as far as to attempt to beat up Walter Cunningham for setting her off on the wrong foot on page 30. In the next few chapters she progresses to level two of Kohlberg’s

stages. On page 54, it states, “‘Jem,’ I said, ‘I think Atticus knows it anyway.’ ‘No he don’t. If he did he’d say he did.’ I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl… and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” From this passage, not only do is it seen how Scout follows the spirit of the law while Jem follows the word of the law, but the reader sees how Scout does what Jem wants her to do. Even though she knows it is wrong, she follows Jem because she wants the approval from others. This is an example of level two, stage 3 in Kohlberg’s stages since Scout does “good” by doing what Jem approves. However, the first event that changes her morals is seen on page 69 when Scout, Dill and Jem sneak to the Radley’s place. She says, “With that, I had no option but to join them.” Dill, Jem, and Scout were on a walk and Dill and Jem wanted to go onto the Radley’s place to try to look at Boo. Scout tries to reason with them but soon she joins Jem and Dill. She knows what they are doing is wrong, but she still goes along because she wants to do good by their standards. The second event that develops Scout is seen in chapter nine where she pursues her cousin, Francis.

She does this because Francis called Atticus a n*****-lover. On page 114, when her Uncle Jack asks her what Francis called Atticus, she replies, “A n*****-lover. I ain’t very sure what it means, but the way Francis said it- tell you one thing right now, Uncle Jack, I’ll be- I swear before God if I’ll sit there and let him say somethin’ about Atticus.” Even though she does not know what it means, she knows what Francis said is an insult. As a result, Scout decides to dive head first into the problem and chases Francis. She is aware of all the consequences she will face, but she does not care. She wants to stand up for Atticus and do what is right according to her. This is her stepping into level three of Kohlberg’s stages. What she does conflicts with the rules, but it lives up to the higher rules of morality depicted in level three of Kohlberg’s stages. The last event that influences Scout’s personal growth is when she escorted Arthur/Boo Radley home in chapter 31. On page 372 and 373, Scout says, “...if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do.” She does this

because she cares about Arthur. She wants to make Arthur look like the person who he truly is, not the one made up by rumors. However, Scout does this at the sacrifice of her own reputation because Arthur is regarded as a monster in the neighborhood. If she was seen with him then sparks would ignite all over town. Nonetheless, Scout does it not to follow the society’s rules, but she does it out of the goodness in her heart which illustrates level three. On page 374, Scout says, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” She imagines the events of the novel through the lens of Arthur Radley. This causes her to understand Arthur and emphasize with him. This is the final event in the novel that evolves her as a character. She takes to heart Atticus’s words about empathy and she becomes empathetic herself. She lives up to those higher laws of morality and reaches level three at the end of the novel.
Scout has one of the greatest moral developments in the novel. Even though it took the entire novel, we saw a young child grow up to become a kind and respectful woman. In the beginning, her sense of right and wrong was reliant on what others told her. She followed Atticus, Jem and Calpurnia. Nevertheless, she gained an independence and knew what was right and wrong from what she believed in. The events that fueled this growth was when she snuck to the Radley’s place with Dill and Jem; when she attacked Francis; and when she escorted Arthur Radley back home. These events told her that she should follow her conscience and not the will of other people. She does not believe that laws determine justice and fairness, but what people think and feel determines it. If this was not so, then she would be in level two. Starting from level one and two of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, she reaches level three and follows her conscience and what is universally humane across all of humanity.