To Kill a Mockingbird - Scout's Maturity
Uploaded by Admin on Feb 06, 2001
As people grow in life, they mature and change. In the novel , To Kill a Mockingbird ,by Harper Lee, Scout, the main character, matures as the book continues. Slowly but surely, Scout learns to control her explosive temper, to refrain from fistfights, and to respect Calpurnia, their maid, and to really learn her value to the family. Scout simply changes because she matures, and she also changes because Atticus, her father, asks her to.
In the early chapters of the book, Scout picks fights at the slightest provocation. One example of this is when Scout beats up Walter Cunningham, one of her classmates, for “not having his lunch”, which isn’t a very good reason at all. “Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop. ‘You’re bigger’n he is,’ he said … ‘He made me start off on the wrong foot.’ … ‘Let him go Scout. Why?’ ‘He didn’t have any lunch,’ I said, and explained my involvement in Walter’s dietary affairs” (27). Scout is also very mischievous and has a devious mentality towards Calpurnia. She describes Calpurnia as a tyrannical presence, and she does everything she can to get her out of the house. One time Scout does this is when Walter comes over to her house to eat dinner. Scout criticizes Walter for drowning his food in molasses, and Calpurnia scolds Scout. After Walter leaves, Scout asks Atticus to fire Calpurnia, which of course he doesn’t do. “Jem said suddenly grinned at him. ‘Come on home to dinner with us, Walter,’ he said. … Walter stood where he was, biting his lip. Jem and I gave up, and we were nearly to the Radley Place when Walter called, ‘Hey, I’m comin’!’ While Walter piled food on his plate, he and Atticus talked together like to men, to the wonderment of Jem and me. Atticus was expounding on farm problems when Walter interrupted to ask if there was any molasses in the house… Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous hand.
He would probably have poured it into his milk glass had I not asked what the sam hill he was doing… It was then that Calpurnia quested my presence in the kitchen… She was furious, and when she was furious Calpurnia’s grammar became erratic… “There’s...