Scout's Education

Scout Finch begins as a six-year-old tomboy who solves problems with her fists. Over three years she gets two educations: the formal one from school, which she finds dull, and the moral one from Atticus, who teaches by example rather than lecture.

Atticus tells her she cannot understand someone until she climbs into their skin and walks around in it. This lesson — empathy as moral foundation — shapes the whole novel. Scout slowly learns to see Boo Radley, the Cunninghams, and even the hateful Mrs. Dubose with eyes trained to understand rather than judge.