Scout also learns what ‘a compromise’ is about. When she begins to dislike Miss. Caroline’s way of teaching, she immediately decides that she wants to stay at home, then she realises that some things need a greater understanding. Atticus explains to her that ‘a compromise’ is, ‘an agreement reached by mutual concessions,’ which is something she does with him. She reaches an agreement with her father, that if she attends school then he will read to her
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every night. This develops Scout’s character as she sees things from an adult perspective.
Scout also realises that not all people are the same even in their beliefs, because some are strict and others are more lenient. She learns this, when Miss Maudie explains to her that she, herself, was a normal Baptist but others like Arthur Radley were ‘foot-washing Baptists’. Foot-washers had told Miss Maudie that ‘she spent too much time in God’s outdoors and not enough time inside the house reading the Bible’. This teaches Scout that the degrees of people’s beliefs are different and she must learn to adjust. She is led to understand that it is better to fight with her head and not her fists. She tries to consult the children at school, when they call her dad ‘niggerlover’ she responds by walking away instead of fighting them physically. These little incidents teach her the meaning of ‘a compromise’ and help her to enrich her character.
Scout grasps an understanding ‘to not necessarily tell all you know.’ She learns the importance of keeping things to herself and not blurt out everything. She is taught that some things are a secret and they need to be kept quiet. Mr Raymond gives an explanation on why it is good to keep some things hushed. He tells Scout and Dill that ‘I try to give folks a reason’ to think badly of his character by appearing drunk. Scout understands why he pretends to drink whisky instead of Coca Cola. He prefers people to hate him because he is a drunk rather than, he lives with a coloured woman. Scout learns not to take things at face value and this helps her to mature and gives her a better perceptive of the way in which people think.
Jem and Scout visit the mixed church with Calpurnia and hear her speaking differently with coloured people. Calpurnia explains to
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Scout that ‘folks don’t like to have somebody knowing more than they do’. This incident teaches Scout that people feel uneasy about other individuals with greater knowledge than their own. She acquires an understanding that it is better to keep some things quiet so that people feel at ease.
Her greatest change which is also quite heart rending is the fact that she comes to a realisation that just because a person is innocent, doesn’t necessarily mean justice will be done. She is not only certain that Tom is innocent of any crime, but also that her father will make sure that he is not found guilty. Originally her conviction that justice will be served only highlights her attitude of dejection when she realises that justice is not always expected. As she is waiting in the courtroom for the verdict, ‘the impression that was creeping’ into her was like the one she ‘had last winter.’ She feels the atmosphere in the courtroom is similar to the one she felt in ‘a cold February morning when the mockingbirds were still.’
The various things Scout learns during the novel, contribute to her change and growing up. Many of her lessons are taught by Atticus, Calpurnia and Miss Maudie. Towards the end of the novel, Scout’s character has matured vastly; whereas at first she behaves immaturely towards Aunt Alexandra, at the end she tries to please her by acting in a ‘lady-like’ manner. She changes and develops by talking to adults and learning how to handle different situations.
