Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a “coming of age” narrative following the life of Jean Scout Finch. Written from a child’s point of view at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, it expressed views of racism and many other injustices. Lee’s use of actual events led to the foundation for this novel. The events told by Scout effectively portray an honest “coming of age story”. She gives us personalized insight of the expectations she faced as a young lady during this time
Overall, I believe that first person was successful. Scout provided descriptions of events as she experienced them. This is shown after Tom Robinson was shot and killed. Mr. Underwood talked about miscarriages of justice,he was writing so children could understand. Mr. Underwood was simply saying it was a sin to kill cripples, whether they are standing, sitting or escaping. However, Scout didn’t understand that because at the time she was only seven or eight years old . She doesn’t understand “miscarriages of justice”. The novel was centered on a child seeing life in black and white meaning she didn’t know all of the gray areas of justice ,but she was old enough to know there was a difference.
As a reader, we have the advantage of the storyteller being able to reflect back at a situation and how she saw the world which made her more honest. When Scout tells Miss Caroline that her fellow student Walter Cunningham Jr is too poor to pay her back for lunch. It was good to write with her child like mind because she didn’t care about social class. It was mean,but had an innocence and truth.
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Scout as the narrator is important to understand because of what it shows about both the value and limitations. Scout’s limited perspective and observations slowly expand as the story unfolds, they might reflect on the ways in which their own perspectives are limited, as are everyone’s.The novel would have been completely different if the story was told from a third-person point of view. It wouldn’t have put limits on my interpretation and my views wouldn’t have been swayed by Scouts opinions or feelings (explain more) if the book was written in the third person it would of allowed the readers with gaps to fill in their own understanding of several important events and characters in the book.
