Since Scout narrates To Kill a
Mockingbird from a retrospective adult perspective, she gives us a good idea
of how she sees herself during her younger years. She recognizes that she is a bit of a
tomboy: She avoids all efforts for others to make her more lady-like, and she tries to
do everything her big brother, Jem, does. Her favorite clothes are a pair of old
overalls. She has virtually no female friends her own age; in fact, summer visitor Dill
(who becomes her youthful fiance) seems to be the only close childhood friend she has
outside of Jem. Scout is curious, quick-tempered (she loves to fight boys) and very
insightful for a child her age. She acknowledges the differences between right and
wrong, and she attempts to follow her father's advice concerning social
responsibilities.
She gives us less perspective concerning
her adult views, but we know she tries to follow Atticus' advice to view others by
standing in their shoes. She recognized her youthful naivete when she tells the reader
that it "was not until many years later" that she realized why Atticus wanted her to
hear every word of his little speech to brother Jack in Chapter 9. And we know that
Scout and Jem were argumentative even as adults. On the very first page of the book, the
two argue about the causes behind Jem's broken arm; when they both realized they were
too old to settle the argument with a fistfight, "we consulted
Atticus."
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