Innocence and Experience

"'First of all,' he said, 'If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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'"  (Page 39).

               One lesson that To Kill a Mockingbird has taught me is to consider things from other people’s point of view. There are many times in this novel when characters have been hated or feared; often there is no logical reason for this. One example is that Mrs Caroline doesn’t like the fact that when she starts school, Scout already knows how to read. In chapter 3, page 39, Scout comes home from school and she is upset. She explains to Atticus what’s wrong and Atticus gave her a piece of advice: "'First of all,' he said, 'If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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.'" 

               During the first half of the novel, Scout is very innocent and unexperienced. By the end of the novel, however, Scout is much more mature and experienced, partially because Atticus gives her many pieces of wise advice and partially because of the events that happen in her life. The author

 clearly shows the way people can judge others for no reason when, really they shouldn't. She clearly states that you shouldn't judge anyone when you don't know their background. 

               

“..It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you” (page 144-145).

               This quotation has two meanings to it. 
              
               First, in this quotation, Scout and Atticus are talking about whether Atticus is a “nigger lover” or not. Atticus explains how he tries to love everyone, while also hinting that they should also try loving everyone. He gives some more advice to Scout; a bad name shouldn’t hurt you, it only tells you how those saying it are rude and lacking social graces. Atticus has taught me that when someone calls another person a rude name, it is not a negative reflection of the victim, but rather of the bully. 

               
               Second, Harper Lee illustrates a perfect example of a person not caring about what other people think. Both Scout and Jem don't like the fact that Mrs Dubose calls their dad a "nigger lover," but Atticus tries to teach them that what people say shouldn't matter to them, just like it doesn't bother Atticus.   In both examples, Atticus is modelling the behaviour he wishes to see in his kids.