To Kill A Mockingbird Songs Analysis

“Am I wrong for saying that I choose another way…Don’t let them control your life. That’s just how I feel. Fight for yours and don’t let them go. Don’t let them compare you, no.” This song by Nico and Vinz means that you should take your own path and if someone is judging you, you shouldn’t let them “control your life.” When Nico sings this he is also saying that you should “fight” or stand up for what you think is right even if no one follows or agrees with you. These two themes about judging others and standing up for what you believe in come up many times in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird and in Jem and Scout’s life. The children learn from these lessons and can use it to understand the world better. Although opponents might say that

only adults understand the world because they are older and have gone through more experiences, Jem and Scout have gone through many life-changing experiences which is more than most of the adults in Maycomb.
First, Scout learns not to judge people based on the first impression. Scout learned this when Walter Cunningham came over for dinner and poured syrup all over his dinner. She thought it was strange until Calpurnia scolded her, “yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunningham’s but it don’t count for nothing the way you’re disgracing them”(24). From this experience, Scout learned that you shouldn’t judge people just because they do things or act differently than others. Walter Cunningham had never had syrup before in his life because he was in a different social class than the Finches. Their family was poor and he had never had it before so he used it in the wrong way. Calpurnia told Scout that it didn’t matter what social class you were in or how much money you had, what mattered was how you treat people regardless of their differences. At this time Scout was still young, but the lesson she learned to treat people equally and not judge them would be important for the rest of her life.
Scout shows that she has grown and understood world more throughout the novel when she defends Walter Cunningham from the rude things Aunt Alexandra says. Scout disagreed when Aunt Alexandra said, “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him” (225). Aunt Alexandra believed that the Finches were better than the Cunningham’s because they weren’t poor. She didn’t really know anything about the Cunningham’s and yet still said that Walter was “trash”. As a result of this, Scout gets angry and tells her aunt that they are good folks so she doesn’t see why she shouldn’t play with Walter. This shows that Scout doesn’t judge others like Aunt Alexandra or even herself did in the beginning of the novel. She changed and understood more and realized more important qualities like the fact that the Cunningham’s were actually very nice people rather than the amount of money they had. Aunt Alexandra was the adult and should have been a role model to Scout in this situation and teach Scout that judging others was wrong. However, the roles were reversed and Scout was the one who didn’t judge the Cunningham’s proving that you do not have to be an adult to understand the world.
In addition, Scout understood the world better when she realizes that Boo Radley isn't the person who she initially thought he was. She realizes this when she tells Atticus, “...an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things...Atticus, he was real nice…” (281). In the beginning of the novel, Scout, Jem, and Dill made fun of Boo Radley and thought he was an evil man based on all the rumors spread around town. People around town said he ate raw squirrels or that he watched people through their windows or that he killed children. However, it becomes apparent that none of these rumors about Boo Radley were true. The night that Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell, Boo Radley had come to the rescue and saved Jem and Scout by stabbing Mr. Ewell to protect the children from danger. He ultimately saved their life and proved that most of the rumors against him were false. At the end of the novel, Scout tells Atticus how Boo is actually a very kind person and realizes that she shouldn’t have judged someone when she didn’t know anything about them. These examples of not judging people throughout the novel show that regardless of their age, Jem and Scout can use these lessons in the future to understand the world.
Furthermore, the children in the novel learn to stand up for what you think is right even if you are standing alone.

Scout stands up for her beliefs and rights when Francis calls Atticus rude and offensive names. She gets tells Francis, “He is not!... I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, but you better cut it out this red hot minute” (83). The argument had started when Francis called Atticus a “n*****-lover”. Scout became defensive and stood up for Atticus because she knew that Atticus was a fair man who didn’t believe in racism. He stood up for black people because he believed that everyone was equal regardless of race. Scout, along with her father believed that black people should be treated fairly as well so when Francis called Atticus rude names she stood up for him because she knew that Atticus was a fair and equal man. This shows that you do not need to be an adult to understand the world because most of the people in Maycomb were racist such as Bob Ewell. Despite her young age, Scout stood up for her father and her beliefs and knew that not all black people were bad people. Additionally, Jem stands up for his rights and his father when Mrs. Dubose says something rude about black people. Scout describes Jem’s attitude when she thinks, “Jem had probably stood as much gruff about Atticus lawing for n***** as much as I, and I took it for granted that he kept his temper” (102). This shows that although Jem had a pretty steady temper, he lost it when Mrs. Dubose said that Atticus was “no better than the n****** and trash he works for”. Jem, like his father didn’t discriminate against black people unlike the rest of the people in Maycomb. While he did get heated, it was because he stood up for Atticus and his beliefs which were to not judge black people. There was already so much prejudice in Maycomb and Jem regardless of his young age, stood up for what he thought was right and protected black people and his father. This lesson of standing up for what you think

is right can be used in the future in Jem and Scout lives. They can understand the world better because they realized that it was better to stand up for what you think is right than be quiet about your beliefs.
Throughout the story, Jem and Scout have realized many things such as not to judge people based on rumors and to stand up for what you think is right even if no one follows you. Even though they were young they understood more than anyone else in the town. Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose were grown adults but were racist and judged people. Jem and Scout were 12 and 8 years old respectively and learned many lessons proving that age does not matter in order to understand the world.