What Is Scout's Moral Development In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Moral Development of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest works of literature which displays how the morals of a human being can be influenced and change over time. The narrator, Scout Finch, recounts her childhood from an older perspective, and tells the reader about her experiences starting from age six. At the beginning of the novel, Scout is a rebellious, hot-tempered girl who will listen to her father, but will also get provoked and start fighting very easily. She goes along with society and treats everyone based on how society judges them, causing her to treat poor people with disrespect and call black people by another common name besides Negro. By the end, she has changed more than any character,

and has become much wiser. She is much more understanding, and tries to treat every person as she sees them, and also tries look at things from other perspectives.

At the very beginning of the book, Scout is at Stage 2 in Kohlberg’s ranking of the stages of moral development, Jem is at Stage 3, and Atticus is at Stage 6. This is because Scout tries to get revenge if anyone does anything to provoke her, and does not think about how others would approve of her actions. She does not always mean well either, and intends to harm people in fights, thus not allowing her be placed at Stage 3. Jem is also very similar to Scout, but normally tries to mean well and prevent the situation from getting worse. However, Jem does not always obey authority, preventing him from being placed at Stage 4. Atticus is much different, and already has very good morals. He lives by his own conscience, and believes in “universal principles of justice and human dignity.” The first event which causes Scout to develop morally is when Calpurnia gives her a lesson on how to treat people when Walter Cunningham comes over to eat at their house. This occurs on page 33, when the narrator recalls Calpurnia saying, “Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!’” This causes Scout to learn to respect people who live in poorer conditions, and Scout’s learning of this is shown throughout the novel since she does not fight Walter Cunningham ever again.

The second event which causes Scout to develop morally is when she talks to Atticus about what Cecil said to her in school, and Atticus gives her a lesson on page 101.

Atticus says, “‘No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change… it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.’” When Atticus tells her this, she understands that it is important to not get affected easily if someone tries to provoke her. Then, on page 102, she backs away from the fight, “It was the first time I walked away from a fight. Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked jem and me to do something for him, I could take being called a coward for him.” This quote indicates to the reader that Scout has taken what Atticus has said to her heart, and has now become less hot-tempered. This experience also shows Scout’s development of what is right or wrong because she understands that going in a fight and disobeying authority or causing harm to others is not the right thing to do. This means that Scout has already progressed to Stage 4, since she follows the law, obeys authority, and avoids challenging the social order. However, Jem has not really progressed yet at this point because he still disobeys his father, who counts as authority. Overall, by the end of the first part of the book, Scout has progressed two stages and is now at Stage 4, while Jem and Atticus have not progressed to a higher

stage.

The next event which causes Scout and Jem to improve morally is when they talk to Atticus about the outcome of the trial, and Atticus tries to explain to them why a jury would favor a white man even when the answer is obvious to an unbiased observer. This happens on page 295, when the enormity of Atticus’s words finally hits Scout and Jem, “‘As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.’ Atticus was speaking so quietly his last word crashed on our ears.” This quote indicates how both Scout and Jem have finally understood that the people on the jury were too bias, and that their decision was too biased to be considered a good decision despite them being “authority”. This means that both Scout and Jem have advanced to Stage 5 because they both “look beyond laws and decisions by authority members to the rights and principles that our society is based on.” They are “looking beyond” because they begin to see and understand that the decision that the jury made was because they were a biased authority, and instead look at the case through their own lens to see what the verdict should have truly been.

The last event which indicates Scout’s moral development is when Scout drops Boo Radley off at his house, and remembers all the events that occurred since the beginning of the book.

At this point in the book, the narrator recalls, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” When Scout thinks this, it reveals to the reader that Scout has advanced to Stage 6. She is now looking at the world through her own perspective, and is remembering her memories according to her new conscience, which is that all people are equal and that things can really change if you look at them through a different perspective. However, Jem is still at Stage 5 because there is no indication in the book that he is striving to live according to his own conscience, which is also not made clear. Atticus is still at Stage 6, and is trying, as always, to live by his own standards and beliefs about how humans should treat each

other.
Overall, Scout develops the most morally over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird. She progresses from Stage 2 to Stage 6 on Kohlberg's ranking of the stages of moral development, while Jem only goes from Stage 3 to Stage 5, and Atticus stays at Stage 6. Through her many experiences, Scout is either taught or is able to figure out something new which changes how she thinks and acts, leading her to be a morally better person. She learns what is right and wrong through the consequences which she faces after each experience. At the end of the novel, she is a fair person who looks at things in a just way, causing her to stand out from many people in her society at the time. Atticus believes that the turning point is near, and that people are slowly changing their ways and beginning to become fairer and less bias. Scout is a great mascot for this movement, as she has changed from believing what the common folk believed to what humans should believe. This world that Atticus believes will eventually exist, a world where no humans are treated in a bias way due to their outward appearance, almost exists today, after nearly a 100 years. I believe that this world might exist one day, in some places, when humanity realizes that it should work together to create a better environment for everyone.