Scout’s Lessons That Make Her More Mature

Ones parents and teachers usually try to teach one something one doesn’t want to know. One should listen next time for it might an important lesson. Like ones parents or teachers, the adults in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird try to teach Scout/one that may be important. One lesson learned is to face ones problems. Another is to respect everyone no matter how they differ.

A lesson taught is to stand up for what one believes in. Therefore, lessons learned from childhood experiences help children make more mature decisions later.The lesson of facing ones fears pays off for Scout in the end. After Scout’s unpleasant first day of school, she tries to convince her father, Atticus, to allow her to quit school.

They begin the conversation and end with a compromise. Atticus suggests, “If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have” (Lee 31). The lesson learned is to face ones problems or fears. Atticus does an excellent job of compromising with Scout to get her to face her problem.

This lesson is important to know because it helps one move on in life. Before Scout found the chewing gum for the first time, the narrator talked about how she was learning the Dewy Decimal System in class. She states, “The reminder of my school days were no more auspicious than the first” (Lee 32). When the narrator says “school days”, she means the other days of school that she would have been at home if she had gotten her way. The outcome is that she learned new things in class and she grew as a person.This is one example of how children are highly influenced by adults.

Not being prejudiced truly makes for a better, kinder person. While Walter Cunningham was over for dinner, he drenched his plate in syrup. Scout made fun of him for that. Calpurnia pulled her aside so she could speak with Scout privately. Scout tells Calpurnia that Walter doesn’t count as company because he is poor. Calpurnia responds, “Don’t matter who they are, anybody who sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! (Lee 24).

The lesson learned was to respect everyone no matter what they look like or where the person’s from. This is an important lesson for Scout because it teaches her not to be prejudiced or racist. This is a very good lesson to teach Scout considering the time period of the novel. When a group of men, including Mr.

Cunningham, speak to Atticus, she runs right to his side. She then begins a conversation with Mr. Cunningham. After she is done introducing herself, she asks, “Tell him hey for me, won’t you? ” (Lee 154).This shows that she has grown to be friends with Walter and look past where he’s from and that he is poor.

The outcome is that Mr. Cunningham agreed to say hey for her. No matter where someone lives or how much money he or she has, you must respect him or her as you would anyone else. This lesson was a great lesson for Scout to learn in this time period. This lesson highly influenced her behavior and understanding of the trial. After Cecil Jacobs is done announcing, “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers” (Lee 74), she goes home to ask Atticus if he did, and why?He replies, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee 75).

The lesson learned is to stand up for what one believes in. This is important because it teaches one to be truthful to oneself. It makes one take charge of something wrong and make it right. When Scout goes to the trial, she goes to stand up for Tom. She believes he was innocent and so she tried to keep him out of jail.The narrator states, “We held off until noon, when Atticus came home to dinner and said they’d spent the morning picking the jury” (Lee 160).

That implies that they were waiting to go to the courthouse until noon. The outcome was that Scout, Jem and Dill went to the courthouse to support Tom’s innocence. The lessons that are learned help make more effective, mature decisions. Facing your problems is a good way to grow as a person.

Respecting everyone helps teach you manners. Standing up for what you believe in teaches you to be truthful to yourself. The many lessons taught to Scout impact an influence her following behavior greatly.