Southern culture provided the younger generations with specific expectations of how to behave and grow into the perfect southern citizen. One of those expectations familiarizes itself with the fact a child cannot withhold their own opinion if it goes against the culture. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird evidence is shown that Jean Louise “Scout” Finch starts to break away from the idealism of southern society. A child’s mind takes in important information structured by society until they start to age and take their thoughts and opinions into their own hands.
Before children start to fully wonder about the world and how it works, they get the ideas and opinions from the people they look up to and sometimes the people surrounding them. In the …show more content…
When her brother, Jem, and her friend, Dill, want to mess with him after several previous incidents, she gives a reasonable response for what she knows about the man saying, “You all’ve gone crazy, he’ll kill us” (52)! Scout has always listened to all the bad stories people have said about this man she does not know. She conformed to what everybody else in town thinks because the only information provided to her came from the people of Maycomb. There was no chance to go out and experience what it means to have structured opinions of her own. The realization that the town’s malevolent phantom had stood right behind Scout and he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders terrified Scout, who has heard nothing but awful and horrible stories about the so called “creepy ghost”. Once the comprehension of what happened set in, “[her] stomach turned to water and [she] nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket and crept toward [her]” (82). Now …show more content…
As children get older it gets harder and harder to believe every story told with no factual evidence, which can create some kind of doubt. When school started again and scout passed the Radley place, “... [It] had ceased to terrify [her]” (277). After waiting awhile without a visit from Boo, she became less afraid and more curious to see him. Along with the beginning of creating her own opinions her father’s case had begun and she started maturing. Scout now had more of an open opinion about events happening in Maycomb. Though her opinion of events in town leaned more towards what her father thought, she still had her own thoughts and feelings about the case. She begins to break out of the protective bubble society has confined her to and thus begun creating her own feelings, yet still following her father’s thoughts for guidance. Even as she passed the place, “[she] sometimes felt a twinge of remorse…” (277), interfering with somebody’s personal space as she knows as morally wrong. A feeling of guilt overcame her because she would not want somebody romping around in her life so why should she involve herself in his life. Although, along that spout of maturity she still wonders about the mysterious man who stays in his house, yet she will not act on the curiosity like she would have previously. Curiosity can
Before children start to fully wonder about the world and how it works, they get the ideas and opinions from the people they look up to and sometimes the people surrounding them. In the …show more content…
When her brother, Jem, and her friend, Dill, want to mess with him after several previous incidents, she gives a reasonable response for what she knows about the man saying, “You all’ve gone crazy, he’ll kill us” (52)! Scout has always listened to all the bad stories people have said about this man she does not know. She conformed to what everybody else in town thinks because the only information provided to her came from the people of Maycomb. There was no chance to go out and experience what it means to have structured opinions of her own. The realization that the town’s malevolent phantom had stood right behind Scout and he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders terrified Scout, who has heard nothing but awful and horrible stories about the so called “creepy ghost”. Once the comprehension of what happened set in, “[her] stomach turned to water and [she] nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket and crept toward [her]” (82). Now …show more content…
As children get older it gets harder and harder to believe every story told with no factual evidence, which can create some kind of doubt. When school started again and scout passed the Radley place, “... [It] had ceased to terrify [her]” (277). After waiting awhile without a visit from Boo, she became less afraid and more curious to see him. Along with the beginning of creating her own opinions her father’s case had begun and she started maturing. Scout now had more of an open opinion about events happening in Maycomb. Though her opinion of events in town leaned more towards what her father thought, she still had her own thoughts and feelings about the case. She begins to break out of the protective bubble society has confined her to and thus begun creating her own feelings, yet still following her father’s thoughts for guidance. Even as she passed the place, “[she] sometimes felt a twinge of remorse…” (277), interfering with somebody’s personal space as she knows as morally wrong. A feeling of guilt overcame her because she would not want somebody romping around in her life so why should she involve herself in his life. Although, along that spout of maturity she still wonders about the mysterious man who stays in his house, yet she will not act on the curiosity like she would have previously. Curiosity can