Jem and Scouts Lessons in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”

One of the lessons Scout learns is to look at things from other people’s perspectives. He teaches them so many lessons here is an example how he helped Scout. “‘First of all,’ he said, ‘If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-‘ ‘Sir?’ ‘-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.'”(p30) Scout learned an extremely good lesson from what Atticus said. Scout pays a lot of attention to Atticus and it shows the great bond between the two. Scout even put this to use later in the story. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radly Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him.”(p57) Therefore to understand other people you must climb into there shoes and then you will truly understand, Scout used this and did understand.

This would have to be the greatest lesson out of the whole book it even gives the book its name. “Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. ‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up peoples gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.'”(pUnknown) Jem did not understand this for a start until he asked Miss Maudie who is very similar to Atticus.

Later on Jem used the knowledge he had learnt from this lesson. “Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might. ‘Yes sir, I understand,’ I reassured him. ‘Mr. Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?'”(p276) The quote shows the knowledge of Jem and how effectively he could use it. Jem learnt the lesson that it’s a sin to kill something that only does good for the world. Another great lesson learned next.

This lesson is teaching both Jem and Scout that no matter what anyone thinks you should do what you believe in even if you will get picked on.”They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” A great lesson taught by Atticus. He teaches the children even though he knows people will pick on him if he takes the Tom Robinson case. He believed if he didn’t take the case he wouldn’t be able to live with himself, so he took the case and taught Jem and Scout that even though people are prejudice against certain things and people that if you want to do something you should do it no matter what.

In this story the lessons Jem and Scout learned where very valuable. It’s quite talented that they could learn such great lessons at such a young age. The great affect these lessons will have on their life is huge it will be able to guide them through their lives with fewer hassles. Atticus is admirable how he can teach such young kids such great lessons it proves how intelligent he really is. To sum it up these lessons have great affect on Scout and Jem’s lives and will help them later on in their lives.