In To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch,
through her many experiences, came to realize many lessons. Two of which follow: who
it is sinful to harm and the understanding of others. She achieved them when observing
Tom Robinson's trial and standing on the Radleys' porch.
Scout learned that it is a sin to hurt someone who doesn't do harm to others. Tom
Robinson was a man who worked hard to support his family; he never did harm to
anyone else. He was accused of rape and brought to court. Although he was clearly
innocent, he was convicted and sent to jail. Soon after, he was shot and killed because
he, supposedly, attempted to escape. Scout discovered it was immoral to wrong one who
doesn't wrong others in that Tom Robinson, and good man, was killed as a result of
something he never did.
Scout also learned that the only way you can truly understand someone is by
walking around in their shoes. Many of the kids in Maycomb had the impression that
Arthur "Boo" Radley was an evil person because his nature was mysterious. She never
really understood him until the end of the novel. After walking Boo to his house, Scout
looked at the town from the porch, Boo's point of view. She saw Maycomb how Boo had
always seen it. At that point, she understood Boo. Scout learned that you cannot
understand someone until you see things through his eyes in that she achieved a new
perception of Boo when she observed her town from his front porch.
Both of the lessons portrayed are essential in the full development of Scout's
awareness of the world. The lesson she learned from Tom Robinson gives her a moral
outlook on her behavior toward others. The lesson Boo Radley revealed to her allows her
to think before making an assumption about someone. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley
granted Scout two very necessary lessons of life.
|