Often times we pre-judge others and have a preset bias towards them, in return, we become oblivious to who they really are, have confined facts, and abundant fallacies about them. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”-Atticus Finch. In Harper Lee’s, “To Kill A Mockingbird. From the start of the novel towards the end, Scout and Jem are encouraged by Atticus to acknowledge and comprehend the perspective and rationale of others for their actions.

At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to Scout Finch-the protagonist and narrator, she is just starting school, plus we are also introduced to Ms. Caroline, a women not native to the town of Maycomb and its traditions. Although Scout is very young we get a hint of her developing maturity when she takes in to account Ms. Caroline’s perspective. During the first encounter between Scout and Ms. Caroline, Scout simply tries to inform Ms. Caroline that Walter Cunningham who does not have a lunch-cannot afford to pay back the quarter Ms. Caroline offers him. “That’s okay, ma’am, you’ll get to know all the county folks after a while”- Scout Finch. This quote supports the idea of Ms. Caroline being inexperienced and innocent to Maycomb’s culture. Adding on to that, we also get a glimpse of Scout understanding the perspective of someone else, however, if Scout failed to take Ms. Caroline’s perspective into consideration, Scout would just feel as if Ms. Caroline was unintellectual to the Maycomb traditions-and not have politely corrected Ms. Caroline.

Despite doing the ethical deed, Atticus’ choice of protecting Tom Robinson-Maycomb’s scapegoat- is looked down on from a condescending-prejudice society. Mrs. Dubose has a speculated reputation that Scout has appointed to her, “Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing.”- Scout Finch. This quotation represents how Mrs. Dubose is criticizing the kids for something their father is doing. And in return, Scout accumulates this hateful perception towards her. However, having his patience tested enough, Jem rages at the insults Mrs. Dubose launches towards Atticus and terrorizes Mrs. Dubose’s camellias-not taking her rationale into account before doing so. After finding out about Jem’s acts, Atticus disciplines Jem by asking him to read to her everyday for a month. At first Jem and Scout look at this as punishment. “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,”-Atticus Finch This is when Atticus points out Mrs. Dubose’s morphine addiction being kicked by Jem reading to her, hence, the kids shift their perspective entirely about reading to Mrs. Dubose from punishment to helping out. And after highlighting the fact that Mrs. Dubose was old and had nothing better to do than cuss at Atticus, the children remember Mrs. Dubose in an entirely new way after she passes away.

Another target of Maycomb’s prejudice ways is Arthur Radley or otherwise perceived as Boo, Malevolent-Phantom, or Ghost. Throughout the entire novel Boo preforms acts of kindness for Jem and Scout- despite having a faulted reputation. At first, even Jem and Scout accepted Boo as a monster and not an innocent man who chooses-himself-to constrain himself inside his house from the ways of Maycomb. As Scout and Jem are saved by Boo from Bob, it becomes evident to Scout that Arthur Radley isn’t the real enemy, Maycomb is. “A strange small spasm shook him, as if he heard fingernails scrape slate, but as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face. His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears.” “Hey, Boo,’ I said.”-Scout Finch. This quote is symbolic in the way that it represents Scout’s tear as the old interpretation she accepted of Boo, but after saving her and her realizing that; the tear went away just like the old interpretation she had of Boo. “They were white hands, sickly white hands that had never seen the sun,”-Scout Finch. As soon as Jem realizes that Boo stays inside because he chooses to, this quote plays in and suggests that Arthur’s sickly white hands that had never seen the sun are symbolic to his innocence. Due to the fact that he is different from most people in Maycomb that have been colored by Maycomb’s prejudice ways, his white hands that have never seen the Maycomb sun are symbolic of his innocence and this quote also backs up Arthur Radley’s decision to stay confined in his house and segregated from Maycomb.

All in all, the perspective Scout and Jem have towards Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose and Ms. Caroline in the novel shifts and they learn not to pre-judge others, form an opinion or bias towards anyone else as it will only cause them to have abundant fallacies and confined facts.