Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Ignorance is a lack or experience or knowledge; however, one can mature from ignorance similar to outgrowing clothing. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the idea of ignorance versus understanding is explored. Over the course of the book, the two main characters Scout and Jem develop from ignorance to understanding and empathy. Part one of the book encompasses their childish fears of Boo Radley, while part two refers to the trial of Tom Robinson and its consequences. The lessons the children are taught in part one enable them to understand and empathize with the trial in part two and those involved, despite their xenophobic community.
In the beginning part of the book, Scout and Jem are fascinated yet terrified by the …show more content…
Their father, Atticus, teaches them to sympathize with Boo and their motherly neighbor Miss Maudie teaches them to understand him. When Atticus catches them playing the Boo Radley game he scolds that “what Mr. Radley did was his own business. If he wanted to come out, he would.”(54), Scout then summarizes Atticus’s words by narrating “How would we like it if Atticus barged in on us without knocking, when we were in our rooms at night? We were, in effect, doing the same thing to Mr. Radley.”(54). When Atticus compares the children to Boo it helps them empathize with him. His words persuade Jem and Scout to think of Boo as a person similar to them, rather than what the myths portray him as. The other adult who heavily influences Scout and Jem and helps them mature is Miss Maudie. When Scout asks Miss Maudie if the rumours about Boo Radley are true, she responds “I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how. “(51). Miss Maudie helps Scout understand Boo and breaks her preconceived notion of his monstrosity. By demonstrating the fact that she judges Boo by her own interactions with him rather than myths, Miss Maudie shows Scout that to be prejudice is to be wrong. The children absorb the lessons Miss Maudie and Atticus teach them and apply them in part two of the
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