Essay On Scout's Point Of View In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator is six year old Jean Louise Finch – who is known throughout the book as Scout. She presents a different point of view from a normal first-person book, as she is a young child, looking in on the dramas of the novel. This can be both a positive and a negative thing for the book, as Scout is naïve and sometimes does not understand what the adults in the story do. It is important to know that in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, there are two Scouts present – the adult Jean Louise who is recounting on her events of the 3 years, and the child who is experiencing the story. Scout is the observer and also the questioner in the novel, and acts far older than her young age. She has the ability to understand concepts as an adult while narrating the story, which her younger self does not. This is shown with the following quote:…show more content…
As she is a child, she doesn’t understand everything, even when Atticus is willing to tell her what she wants. The other people around town do not tell her everything, this includes Uncle Jack. Uncle Jack deflects her questioning about prostitution, instead telling her other useless facts, thinking this will protect her. “’She asked me what a whore-lady was…’ ‘Did you tell her?’ ‘No, I told her about Lord Melbourne.’”(Chapter 9, Pg 94). Scout also does not understand the consequences of many things. This includes about fighting and the situation with Boo Radley, the Finch’s exclusive neighbour. Having such a young narrator gives To Kill a Mockingbird a different point of view to many other stories. It shows innocence and naivety, but also to not judge everything straight away. It helps ease the tension, especially during such a controversial novel. The two Scouts in the story also allow the reader to know more than just a younger Scout could, as it shows wisdom and understanding that Scout as a child could
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