Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird :: essays research papers

One of the principal aims of To Kill a Mockingbird is to subject the narrator to a serial publication oflearning experiences and then observe how much she profits from her experiences. There is rarely a chapter that does not teach lookout man something new or does not mannequintoward a new learning experience. So, one rewarding approach to the novel is without an examination of these experiences.In the largest view, Scout learns about (1) justice and injustice through the TomRobinson trial (2) prejustice and its effects on the processes of the law and society (3)courage as manifested in ways others act and (4) respect for individuality of the humanbeing. On a smaller scale, Scout learns numerous things about numerous people shebecomes aware of the difficulty of being a lady, particularly when under dressed and shelearns when to react and not to fight.Many of scouts learning experiences being in clearly insignificant scenes. Ultimately she must learn to respect the difference in b ehavior amidst vastly differentpeople, especially when the behavior differs from the normal as radically as in the casesof Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and the Cunninghams. So early in the novel, Scout in thenovel, Scout is faced with some confusing experiences at school, where she confronts ateacher who dosent understand wherefore she can read and where she meets WalterCunningham. Later, Atticus explains to her that to judge a person you must try to seethings from that persons point of view. You must learn to walk aroun in his skin. Thenyou cab uderstand better why a person acts or belives what he does.Only at the end of the novel does Scout finally learn to respect this saying. Untilthen, she remains curious and abrupt why Boo never came out of his house. In themeantime she goes through a series of maturing experiences. She learns how to see herfrom the teachers point of view she tries to judge the Cunninghams and the Ewells fromtheir side she bears the insults of the township and particularly the apperent viciousness ofMrs. Duboes. From all of these, she learns to look at the individuality of the othersFor Scout, courage is most often something with physical act and involvespersonal danger. It is very difficult for Scout to see that greater courage is often requiredin other places of life. Scout learns that the greatest courage can be found in a situationwhere a person knows that he is going to lose and still continues to fight.