In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, the narrorator, is forced to go through an extreme amount of change. As the novel opens, she is a nave little girl unaware of her surroundings and of the evils of the world. In the end of the novel she is a more mature girl with a greater understanding of how the world works. On reason that she is so nave at the beginning is because of how she was brought. Scout was nurtured by Atticus, who gave her a lot more than any other girl in Maycomb. Atticus taught her how to read, and shielded her from racism in the South. This was not all bad though, because as Scout grew up, she did not have contempt for blacks, she saw them as equals. There are many instances in which Scout shows both her naivety and how she changes throughout this book.
A first example is when Scout attempts to find the definition of rape. When she asks Atticus, he replied by saying that rape is "carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent."" While this is obviously an extremely complex form of saying the true definition, Scouts show not understanding at all by replying that she did not see a reason for others to scold her for asking that question because of its lack of importance. .
Another example of Scout's ignorance was shown in the scene in front of the jail. Atticus was sitting reading the newspaper, when a gang of men came and tried to cause trouble. Scout, who followed Atticus there with Jem and Dill, ran across the yard in order to defend Atticus. This shows her unawareness because she does not realize the severity of the situation. These men were libel to lynch, shoot, or kill Atticus and all of the kids with him. Because they did not realize this, the children stood tall, and would not back down to the gang. Scout took it even further by attempting to have a civil conversation to one of the men about his son, her classmate. .
The point that truly changes Scout and her view on life was when she and Jem were attacked on their way home from a party at school.
