Note on to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Scout Finch

2291 Words10 Pages
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE Scout Finch Scout (Jean Louise) Finch is the eight-year old narrator of the novel, and the impressions of all the other characters are filtered through her point of view. As a result, she is the most important character in the novel, we the readers rely on her to tell the story. Her curiosity makes her an excellent narrator as she asks questions we also want to ask. Added to her sense of inquisitiveness is an innocence which results in much of the book’s humour. She is a clever child who can read and write before she goes to school. While at the beginning of the novel she accepts people as they appear on the surface, by the end she has a greater understanding of the way appearances can be deceptive. An example of this is the change in her view of Atticus. At first she believed he “couldn’t possibly arouse the admiration of anyone”, but later she witnesses his physical skill and courage in shooting the mad dog Tim Johnson, and his moral courage in defending Tom Robinson, wrongly accused of raping a white girl. Scout has spirit and independence but also a warmth and sympathy which make her sensitive to others feelings. She is careful to treat Boo Radley with curiosity and kindness. At the end of the novel she recalls the events of their lives from the point of view of Boo. She has learned a lot in a short time. In fact it is she who realizes that it would be a sin, like killing a mockingbird to put Boo through the ordeal of a trial for killing Bob Ewell. The roles are reversed and the student has become the teacher. Jem Jeremy Finch is similar to Scout in many ways. Like her he too is learning the ways of the world. However, because of being older (he is nine when the retrospect opens and twelve when it ends) the events of the novel seem to affect him more. Like Scout, Jem is also inquisitive. The novel charts his education. He
Open Document