To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
The novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, presents the view of a young girl growing up in the South during the Great Depression. One of the major characters, Atticus Finch, says, “‘[….] You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view— [….] —until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’” (Lee 30). This is a true statement; a person does not know or truly understand a person until they walk around in their shoes. As the novel progresses, many characters see life from the perspective of another. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch sees life from Arthur “Boo” Radley’s perspective. Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell begin to realize they are more alike then they appear to be. Lastly, Jeremy “Jem” Finch and Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose finally have a better understanding of each other once they spend some time together. This allows them to gain a new perspective and understand people more clearly, and become better people.
Scout is finally able to see life through Boo Radley’s perspective at the end of the novel. Scout understands how Boo sees life when she is standing on his front porch. Lee says, “Atticus [is] right. [….] he [says] you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch [is] enough” (279). This quote is from Chapter 31, in which, Scout walks Boo home. It is on the porch that Scout finally sees the world from Boo’s perspective, both mentally and literally. Scout is standing there, thinking about of what events are happening in Maycomb, and how everything appears to Boo. Also at this moment, she realizes that Boo serves as a source of love and protection for her and Jem throughout the novel. As Scout is falling asleep at the end of the novel, she tells Atticus about a book, The Gray Ghost, “‘[….] an’ Atticus, when they finally [see] him, why he [is not doing] any of those things … Atticus, he [is] real nice…’ [….] ‘Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.’” (Lee 281). In The Gray Ghost, one of the characters is wrongly accused of committing a crime and is pursued. At the end of the story, he is finally caught and his innocence is revealed. After hearing this, Atticus acknowledges the truth of that statement. This quote is a reference to Boo Radley. In the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley is a recluse that never sets foot outside of his house. Because of the people of Maycomb making accusations about Boo Radley, he remains an evil and threatening image in the minds of the children, Jem, Scout, and Dill. As the novel progresses, the children see him as a source of love and goodness; however, there is still an air of creepiness to Boo. In the end, Scout develops a better understanding of Boo and realizes he is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds,” a person injured by the evil of humankind.
