In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader learns about the childhood of Scout Finch, a 6 year old girl from Maycomb County, Alabama. Scout lives with her brother, Jem, and father, Atticus. The book takes readers through a series of life events and lessons that affect the Finch family over the course of three years. In this book the author (Harper Lee) allows Scout to be taught various life lessons that can apply to the reader also. Scout learns not to be overly prideful, not to judge a person until she fully understands them, and not to harm anything that doesn’t harm her.
One life lesson that Scout learns is not to be overly prideful. In chapter 10, Maudie Atkinson, a neighbor of Scout, says to Scout “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.” In this quote, Miss Maudie is explaining to Scout that intelligent people know not to be extremely pompous in their gifts. Scout takes this lesson and begins viewing the world in a different light than she saw it before. There were not many characters that were overly prideful in the novel, but there were hints of pride in certain situations. For example, Jem let his family pride get the best of him when Mrs. Dubose insulted Atticus. Although she was torpid with a morphine addiction, this resulted in Jem cutting down her flowers. This can be applied to the reader’s life by taking the time and consideration to think before they act conceited.
Another lesson that Scout learns is not to judge a person until she can see the world from their perspective. Atticus explains to Scout at the beginning of the book that she cannot judge a book by its cover. His stolid character and careful-minded speech helps explain this delicately. “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.” An example of this would be when Scout walks Boo Radley home and stands on his porch to see how the neighborhood looks from his perspective. Scout enjoys this experience as she learns how Boo Radley lives his daily life. Another time when Scout is too quick to judge is when Aunt Alexandra comes to the Finch house. Aunt Alexandra starts off at the Finch house by being extremely rude and by making herself at home without permission. Anyone can use this lesson by getting to know a person before they judge them.
One of the most important lessons Scout learns in the book is to never mistreat anything that doesn’t mistreat you. Atticus puts it as “never killing a mockingbird.” To be exact he says “Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Some examples of mockingbirds were Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley. Tom Robinson never harmed anyone but was charged for the rape of Mayella Ewell. Another example of this is Arthur Radley’s situation. He is perceived as being insane because of rumors even though he has never done anything bad to anyone. In fact, he has only done good things. He provided a blanket for Scout when she was standing out in the cold and saved the lives of Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell during his attempt at a heinous attack. Both of these men are extremely affable, but are viewed otherwise in the novel. A person can apply this lesson to their lifestyle by thinking of the scenario and the people involved. Based on this, they can make a decision about their course of action. If the person they are dealing with has a clean record, then there is no reason to harm them. This is one of the most important lessons in the book as it is one of the main themes of the story.
So, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and the reader learn not to be overly prideful, not to judge a person until you can stand in their shoes, and not to harm anything that doesn’t do anything bad. All three of these lessons are very important in the book. They develop the plot and play a part in the maturation of Scout and Jem In conclusion, there are many important life values that appear in To Kill a Mockingbird. I thought it was essential that I read this book because I took away many moral values that I can apply to my life.