In To Kill a Mockingbird, what might Scout's knowledge imply about the behaviors of the townspeople?

Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, we are able to see Scout grow and mature as a character through the lessons Atticus teaches her and the events she experiences.  Even though Scout is a young child at the beginning of the novel, Harper Lee takes the reader through the process of Scout growing up.  Scout learns about how to respect and empathize with people like Walter Cunningham because of the lessons Atticus teaches...

Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, we are able to see Scout grow and mature as a character through the lessons Atticus teaches her and the events she experiences.  Even though Scout is a young child at the beginning of the novel, Harper Lee takes the reader through the process of Scout growing up.  Scout learns about how to respect and empathize with people like Walter Cunningham because of the lessons Atticus teaches her.  She learns to “walk in another person’s skin”, and she is mature enough to understand Mayella Ewell’s loneliness because of the hopelessness in which Mayella exists.  To Kill a Mockingbird is a rite of passage for both Jem and Scout as they grow due to the decisions they make, the obstacles and hardships they face, and the lessons they learn. 

A lot of the people of Maycomb, however, have been so mired in the values and beliefs generations old that they cannot grow beyond what they have always known and lived.  Oppressive racists attitudes have been a way of life for so long that people didn’t know how or even want to change.  They live in the ignorance of their positions of power that are so hard to give up.  Although we see some changes in the Maycomb community in characters like Mr. Underwood and Dolphus Raymond, most of the town didn't have an “Atticus” to lead them down the right path of justice and understanding. 

Racism is a learned behavior, and for Scout, Atticus has done a wonderful job of teaching her about the similarities of people.  Because the majority of the white citizens of Maycomb have always lived in a system of racism and discrimination, it is harder for them to want to change their views.  Scout is a symbol of a new way of living one’s life free of racism and oppression of others.