Being defined

For many of years people have been defined by what they look like and not who they were as people. Many times a person dresses, and acts a certain way because of their circumstances. These thoughts came to mind while watching a documentary discussing the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In this Novel Atticus Finch is asked to defend an African American who is believed to have committed a crime. Throughout the trail it is realized Tom Robinson is not guilty however, due to the times he is found guilty and sent to prison.

Besides the trial being an important aspect of the novel Finches young daughter Scout. She loves to dress in pants and play outside. Many tried, including her father to become more of a lady. However, despite their efforts she continued to fight at school and wear overalls while playing outside. Many of these things occurred because of the lack of a mother figure growing up. When a person is young they pick up traits from their parents. Because she was raised predominately by her father she dressed more masculine.

Face value culture would treat her as something to be desired. However, I see her as a broken child. Because of the lack of a mother figure she was trying to find out who she was. She wanted to someone to love and guide her. Fitch was helpful to this aspect. He was smart, intelligence and new right from wrong. Every time Scout fought she would go in his arms to learn a lesson about justice and standing up for the truth. By doing this she was being formed. She was formed through the trial, and school.

If you look deeper at the life of Scout you see a girl who is trying to find herself rather than a girl who is not dressed appropriately. She is beautiful because she is looking, questioning and wanted to grow!