Like the gentle and impressionable song of a mockingbird, children are often blind to the true ignorance and hatred in the world around them due to their joyful demeanor and naivety. Yet this innocence dies as does the song of a mockingbird, and a once genial child begins to see the true nature of the interactions happening around them. During the three years which the book To Kill A Mockingbird details, the book’s main character, Scout Finch, battles a constant internal conflict caused by a loss of innocence in her world and a slow but steady maturation, displayed by the change in Scout’s reactions to different events and her feelings of guilt and contempt with society.
Throughout the book, Scout Finch is portrayed as a tomboyish and naïve …show more content…
One specifically interesting occurrence one can see in To Kill A Mockingbird entirely evident of Scout’s internal struggle is one we see after Atticus has announced the death of Tom Robinson, “I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk toward Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” (Lee 241) Scout has always prided herself on the way that she does not act like the other little girls around her, as Atticus has raised her, and yet this scene shows a major progression in Scout’s character from a once hotheaded and easily disturbed little girl, to a more mature young woman who, despite her struggles with not wanting to act ‘ladylike’ as her aunt says, stays composed at such a sad time. Scout’s effort to remain ladylike and composed shows a definite change from her once stubborn personality, revealing to the reader a complex mental tussle between the younger more boyish and the more mature and ladylike Scout. Scout had finally come to see that the people of Maycomb will strongly hold their beliefs, like those of how a young lady should act, regardless of the foolishness of those beliefs. This scene was just one of the many that exemplify Scout’s internal struggle and her coming to terms with the reality of the society around her. Further, another example of Scout’s internal struggle comes on one of the very last pages. After being attacked by Bob Ewell and being saved by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, Scout is returning home after escorting Boo to his house, and reflects upon her experiences, “I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle... As I made my way home, I felt very old... As I made my way home, I
Throughout the book, Scout Finch is portrayed as a tomboyish and naïve …show more content…
One specifically interesting occurrence one can see in To Kill A Mockingbird entirely evident of Scout’s internal struggle is one we see after Atticus has announced the death of Tom Robinson, “I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk toward Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” (Lee 241) Scout has always prided herself on the way that she does not act like the other little girls around her, as Atticus has raised her, and yet this scene shows a major progression in Scout’s character from a once hotheaded and easily disturbed little girl, to a more mature young woman who, despite her struggles with not wanting to act ‘ladylike’ as her aunt says, stays composed at such a sad time. Scout’s effort to remain ladylike and composed shows a definite change from her once stubborn personality, revealing to the reader a complex mental tussle between the younger more boyish and the more mature and ladylike Scout. Scout had finally come to see that the people of Maycomb will strongly hold their beliefs, like those of how a young lady should act, regardless of the foolishness of those beliefs. This scene was just one of the many that exemplify Scout’s internal struggle and her coming to terms with the reality of the society around her. Further, another example of Scout’s internal struggle comes on one of the very last pages. After being attacked by Bob Ewell and being saved by Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, Scout is returning home after escorting Boo to his house, and reflects upon her experiences, “I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle... As I made my way home, I felt very old... As I made my way home, I