Everybody changes. It is an almost universal fact. The protagonist in a very famous Southern literary novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, has changed very much in a span of just three years, certainly a short time to mature. The book starts out with an innocent Scout, 6 years old, and progresses through the common and controversial acts of the Great Depression to 9 year old Jean, very mature in her perception of discrimination and progressing faster than most kids.
So, what made Scout become levelheaded so fast? Her interactions with Arthur “Boo” Radley, Mrs. Henrietta Dubose, nd Tom Robinson, among other characters, influence Scout and bring upon her crucial maturing through acts related to discrimination and prejudice. The changes in Scout’s perception of discrimination and prejudice can be traced to many episodes linked to key people, most notably Arthur Radley, or as referred to many times in the novel, “Boo” Radley.
Boo Radley starts out in the novel as a Dracularian figure, one who is rumored to have stabbed his father in the leg with scissors, to eat squirrels and cats, and to freeze azaleas in a cold snap. Arthur also is rumored to have gone on a killing rampage before, and despite the fact hese murders were proved to be the work of another townsman, these events still are linked to Boo in Scout’s mind. However, slowly as the novel progresses, Jean Louise slowly learns more and more about Boo Radley through his presents (in the oak hole).
She doesn’t immediately realise it is Boo, but she questionably does. Later, in Chapter 28, when Bob Ewell pursues the children with malicious intent, Arthur saves the kids with “pure” kindness. Earlier in the book she also appears to like Arthur more and more after sneaking into the Radley Place after Jem retrieves his pants in tip-top condition, although this can be ery questionable and ultimately comes down to the readers themselves. She slowly starts realising truly and visibly from this point that Boo isn’t all that the rumors claim he is.
As Claudia Durst Johnson states in her critique of the Southern classic, “The children obsessively make attempts to communicate verbally with Arthur Radley, first by leaving a message for him in the tree, and then, in a blundering fashion, by sticking a note to his window”(302), meaning that the children are now so not afraid of Boo that they are now making attempts to reach out to him through the use of non-verbal written communication, ssumedly to find out more about him.
Also, this means that the conclusion that children’s opinion now is not as enforced by the rumors themselves, but more so from their own personal experiences that, visibly assumed, led the children to believe that Arthur’s brother Nathan is more “evil” than Boo, (Jem’s and Scout’s reactions to various of Nathan’s actions, most notably the cementing of the tree, evoke this) can be reached, especially when considering their reactions to notable actions.
This is even further reinforced when Darren Felty states, “Because of this last encounter with Boo, she learns firsthand about sacrifice and ercy, as well as the more general lesson who Atticus has been trying to teach her. ” (299), which demonstrates that Scout understands the sacrifice involved in Boo’s act of purity when he saves them from Ewell’s clutches. This idea is further cemented when Jill May states, “Throughout the book Boo is talked about. When no one is near to protect them from death, Boo comes out of hiding” (306).
Scout specifically states, “Boo doesn’t mean anybody any harm.. ” (Lee 258), which demonstrates that Scout irrefutably understands Boo and his mentality. Through all of these interactions with Boo, she realises that not everything he hears from the town is true, further reinforced by another figure in the book, Henrietta Dubose. Scout’s perception of prejudice is further molded by another key character in the book, Mrs. Henrietta Dubose. She is introduced in the book as the “meanest old woman I [Scout] knew”.
She always hurls an insult at the kids when they were passing by. When one day Jem goes crazy over her camellias, she “punishes” Jem by making him read to her for a month. She always appeared “gross” with saliva and drool at her mouth, hanging loosely and sometimes make gross sounds. However, unbeknownst to Jem, the time hey spend with her slowly increases, until at the end of the month they spend a whole hour. Then Dubose dies. Atticus then reveals something to the kids that make the Dubose episode something that Lee didn’t just randomly toss in.
He tells them that Dubose was a morphine addict, and that the last thing in her bucket list was to beat her addiction before she died. She did, and Atticus lets the kids know that he thinks this makes her the bravest woman he ever knew. This leaves an impact on Scout’s mind, despite never bringing this event up again throughout the book. We, as careful readers, can reasonably ssume that Scout’s first important event of change is this episode in the novel. Claudia Durst Johnson states in her critique, “A related idea is the control that Mrs.
Dubose has over narcotics through forcing Jem to read” (302). She may be referencing that Dubose is overcoming her addiction; having Jem read to her helped her achieve her goal. She also alludes to the fact that Jem is a figure of great importance in the novel, helping using communication and other art forms in the novel to influence Scout and her development. Lee states in her novel, “She [Mrs. Dubose] seemed to be in a lot of pain or something.. Mrs. Dubose won’.. ‘She was the bravest person ever knew” (28).
Despite all these interactions with Dubose, she is arguably not the most influencial figure in the book. One very visible influence is Tom Robinson, although almost never distinctly direct. Tom Robinson, arguably the most memorable colored person in the book, was a very critical influence on young Scout’s perception of prejudice and discrimination. This influence, however, is not always direct. One instance when it is not entirely within the vicinity of Tom is when the children get harassed by various characters in the book because their father,
Atticus, is representing Tom Robinson. Another instance is referenced nicely by Darren Felty in his critique, “Ultimately, Tom Robinson’s trial and death initiate Scout’s early questioning of racist precepts and behavior. She sees the effects of racism on her teachers and neighbors, and even feels the sting of it herself” (300). Felty, inadvertently when writing this, references Scout’s loss of innocence and her mockingbird, a symbol in the book for innocence. Dill even says in the book that it was unfair the way the prosecutor was treating Tom, and was so moved he started crying.
Scout’s biggest change, however, occurs after she hears that Tom died. Lee writes “I was shaking and Miss Maudie told me to stop. ” (89). This reaction occurs when she hears Tom died. This shows that Scout has truly lost her mockingbird at this point in the story. She is affected mentally so much that she starts shaking. She cannot believe that the hypocrite whites of the town would go so far as to kill an innocent man ruthlessly with seventeen bullets. Tom Robinson’s death has made her mature very quickly in a short amount of time. This stage in the book is when her transformation is complete.
In our final analysis, we see that Scout has basically been influenced by three figures in the book: Boo Radley, Henrietta Dubose, and Tom Robinson. These figures influence Scout more so through actions than through words. Boo Radley saves the children at the risk of his own life. Henrietta Dubose bravely fights through addiction without rehab. And Tom Robinson courageously stood up to what he believed at the cost of his life. These incidents changed Scouts’ perception of prejudice and discrimination forever. Everybody changes. Even a fictional character like Scout.
