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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

In: English and Literature

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Charlie Cannistraci

Mrs. Black

English 10

22 December 2015

Scout’s Development Essay

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Jean Louise Finch or better known as Scout develops over the course of the book, her development is paralleled by her view and opinion on Boo Radley. Throughout the book she changes her views on Boo from an unsightly monster to a kindhearted gentle man. While scout starts to understand Boo over the course of the book, her maturity also develops and she starts growing into an adult.

In the very beginning of the book when Scout and Jem first meet dill, Scout says this to Dill about the Radley residence, “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him” (Lee 7.) As the quote shows Scout views Boo Radley as a monster who has no care for anyone. At this point in the book Scout is six years old. When scout is at school she picks fights with teachers and other kids. One of the best examples of this in the beginning of the book is when Miss Caroline tries to give Walter Cunningham a quarter to buy lunch when he forgets his lunch. Scout tries to explain to Miss caroline that his family is poor and cannot pay her back. After Scout is punished she goes home and whines to Atticus about what happened. This situation is a representation of her immaturity at the beginning of the book. The rest of the year goes by, Scout and Jem both finish up their school year, but Scout’s developments in her maturity and her understanding of Boo Radley don't show until the summer. During the summer Dill returns to Maycomb to see Jem and Scout. One of the main things they do in the summer is play the “Boo Radley game”. Not very soon into the summer they start to find things in a tree in front of the Radley house, they do not for one second suspect it is Boo. Although they do

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