Dunham 1

Daniel Dunham
Ms. Ingram
English I
23 February
Social Influences On Scout
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl named Scout has been influenced greatly.
Social influences and it talks mostly about who in Scouts life that influenced her throughout the
book. There were many events and many people that have influenced her. The first one is family,
and in Scouts family there is Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra. Another is her
friends and neighbors, there was Dill, Mrs. Dubose, and Ms. Maudie. The third was the
government, the government was big in this book, but it was all about the trial. Social influences
to Scout seemed important.
The first main idea is her family. Atticus said to never fight back or retaliate, and she
respects that. He said no matter what happens, like if someone says something mean and rude,
Atticus says to be quite. Cecil calls atticus a nigger-lover to Scout, and she respects Atticus and
walks away. Scout cant wait to go to school because her brother Jem had fun playing with his
school mates. Scout idolizes Jem and looks up to him, and she wants the same experience that
Jem had. Atticus defends a nigger, his name is Tom Robinson Do you defend niggers, Atticus?
Of course I do. Dont say nigger, Scout. Thats common (Lee, 99). Scout starts to respect
Calpurnia. Calpurnia finds a way to persuade Scout to believe Tom Robinson is innocent. When
Scout and Jem went to Calpurnias church, and Scout sees another side of Calpurnia. Scout needs
to see the world from other points of view from other people.

Dunham 2

There are lots of people in Maycomb, her friends and neighbors that influence Scout.
Scouts friend is Dill, and her neighbors are Mrs Dubose and Ms. Maudie. Dill helps Scout
realize how great and amazing her dad is, Atticus. He is saying that in comparison to his dad,
Dills is bad and not as good as Atticus. Atticus shows to Scout and Jem that Mrs. Dubose had
shows true bravery. She has been on a morphine addiction for a long time and she had to stop.
Mrs. Dubose stays strong and quits. Atticus says that courage has nothing to do with holding a
gun. Mrs. Dubose is a poor lonely women, up the street past the real property of Mrs. Henry
Lafayette Dubose. Mrs. Dubose lived alone except for a negro girl in constant attendance (Lee,
132). Ms. Maudie is like a mother to Scout. She is always helpful, nice, and selfless. When Ms.
Maudies house burns in flames, she still keeps thinking about the Finch family. She didnt think
twice about her house or her valuables.
The government plays a big role in this book during the trial. The last paragraph is on the
trial, the most important part.Scout learned that there were people in the community who did
everything they could to help. Atticus defended Tom Robinson for something he didnt do, he
was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows he is going to loose the trial, but he didnt
stop or give up. Scout and Jem were going to sneak into the trial, but Scout is too young and
childish. She had to mature in order to go to the trial, and it also made her more like an adult. So
far, things were utterly dull: nobody had thundered, there were no arguments between opposing
counsel, there was no drama; a grave disappointment to all present, it seemed, it wasnt what
they thought it would be.(Lee, 226). This trial made Scout realize how the world treated and
judged other people and it changed how she thought about the world. Scout, Jem, and Atticus
were disappointed in all counsel men when the verdict said Tom was guilty.

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This is important because it showed how Jem and Scout grew and matured throughout the
book. A lot of events and people have influenced Scout. There was her family, friends and
neighbors, and the government. In her family there is Atticus, Jem, and Calpurnia. Her friends
and neighbors are Dill, Mrs Dubose, and Ms. Maudie. The government was most important
because a good man was killed for something he was accused of.