Goodson 1

Nathan Goodson

Mrs. Heilig

English 1-2

15 March 2017

TKAM Learning and Growing

People may not see or understand why things happen during their life. A way to

understand is by growing up and not being naive. This is shown in Harper Lees To Kill a

Mockingbird. When they are young, Scout and Jem believe that the world is a perfect, painless,

place to live and nothing ever goes wrong. In the beginning Scout and Jem didnt understand the

ways of Maycomb county and the ways that people of Maycomb talked and felt about the

African American population. The kids believed the myths told by the adults in Maycomb about

Tom Robinson. As they grow up Jem and Scout learn lessons about rumors, racism, and about

perspective.

The Finch children hear many rumors about Boo Radley. The finch children believed the

rumors told of Boo Radley, by the end of the book the kids proved the rumors werent true. Jem

stated in chapter one, Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined

on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstainedif you ate

an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across

his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten, his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the

time. Truly no one understood Boo Radley, until Scout found out who Boo Radley really is.

The Finch children witness a lot of racism within their town. Atticus Finch takes a lot of

pride in self respect and respect from other people in Maycomb. Atticus feels that respect and

self respect is key in his life. Any white man that cheats a Negro, is trash, (Lee 20). This is an
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important quote and lesson because to be respected and understand the way someone is in their

life is the best way get respect from thy person and self respect. Scout learns about point of

view from her dad. Scout learns from atticus how to truly understanding the amount of things

that other people go through on a daily basis. Scout learned how to understand things from

another person's point of view. Until I feared i would lose it, I never loved to read. One does

not love breathing, (Lee 20). This part of the book is very important because it really opened up

Scouts eyes to the world.

The kids learn many lessons like rumors, racism, and point of view. The most important

lesson I believe is the lesson atticus teaches Scout on point of view. I think this because at the

end of the book Scout shows that she learned Atticuss lesson when she stands on the porch of

the Radley house just takes in everything that boo sees. Mrs. Harper Lees lesson to society is

do not judge a book by its cover. Just like in To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird is not

actually a bird, a mockingbird is one that changes the world by his/her actions words or thoughts.

The true mockingbird is Atticus Finch.