scout in a mob (sequel to snakes on a plane) 2/7

I think that this might be possible, because Scout is only eight years old, and usually adults feel disappointed when they make a bad example in front of children. Scout is this innocent little girl, and she goes up to her dad like there’s nothing wrong. She starts talking to Mr. Cunningham about his son, and he sees this daughter and father standing together, so he thinks about how he would feel if he was in Atticus’ position at the moment. He calls the mob off because he feels guilty of letting this child see how even the people you think are friends can turn against you.

Through the book, Scout has grown, but not necessarily matured. She did not realize the people surrounding Atticus were different from the people from the other night who came to the house. But, since she still has her naïve childhood spirit, she believes everyone has good in them, so she stays there. She really doesn’t understand racism, since Calpurnia has been with them their whole lives. She doesn’t know why people call Atticus a nigger-lover like it’s bad, since she doesn’t think black people are bad.

When Scout asks Atticus what rape is, he tries to avoid the subject by saying it’s “carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent”. Obviously, she is too young to understand what this means, but Atticus just wants to get the question out of the way. He wants to protect Scout’s innocence, and he thinks if she knew what it was, she might mature faster, and have to deal with worse situations earlier on in life than she has to, even though the kids are abruptly thrown into a world of prejudice, ignorance, sexual assault, and hatred of human beings. It shows how confusing the adult world can be to a child, and Atticus doesn’t want his children thinking everyone in the world is bad. I think later in the book, when the trial has already begun, Scout will finally have to mature to deal with the situations she is living with.