Above all else, as the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch is a tomboy who prefers her favorite garb--overalls--to that of a dress. Scout was based on the author Harper Lee, who was "a rough 'n' tough tomboy," according to childhood friends. Miss Lee also idolized her father, as does Scout, so it is no surprise that these important personality traits of the writer are also embodied within Scout.
Scout has been brought up by her father, Atticus (she never knew her mother), and he is undoubtedly her primary role model. She has little good to say about most of the women in the novel, with the exception of Miss Maudie. Her only sibling is brother Jem. There are apparently no girls her age in the neighborhood, and when Dill arrives each summer, he solidifies the threesome of best friends. Scout obviously looks up to Jem, and she tries to keep up with him in everything he does. Their games are masculine games for the most part; there is no mention of Scout playing with dolls, and even her baton is used by Jem as a weapon to destroy Mrs. Dubose's camellias. At school, she plays and fights with Walter Cunningham, Cecil Jacobs and Little Chuck Little; she has no apparent girl friends. Scout can wear a dress when necessary, as she does at the missionary circle, but she feels more comfortable wearing her overalls in the company of males.
No comments:
Post a Comment