Scout
Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird. She is often considered smart for her age because she is literate, but this intelligence is frowned upon by her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, who believes that children should start their learning from scratch. Scout is also a tomboy who spends majority of her time with her brother and her best friend, Dill. Scout matures from the age of six to the age of eight throughout the novel, but she still retains some of the childish traits that are appropriate to her age. She is the only one of the novel's child protagonists (Scout, Jem and Dill) to see and talk to Arthur "Boo" Radley. Scout was terrified of Boo Radley, but once she sees him, she realizes that he is harmless. Through Boo, she learns not to judge people before getting to know them, or as Atticus says "getting in their skin and walking around in it". By the end of the novel, she is sad that she never gave anything back to Boo, after he saved her life twice. Scout is an innocent child who has not yet able to understand the concepts of racism or hate. Scout is often confused at some of the names her classmates call her father, such as "nigger-lover". Being only young, she does not know how to handle this and beats people up in response. When Atticus finds this out he tells her to respond by holding her head up high. By obeying this command, she shows how loyal she is towards Atticus. Scout is an inspiration to her father, and saves the lives of the others when a mob is trying to attack Atticus. Scout informs Mr. Cunningham about inviting his son over for dinner and that he was a nice boy. Mr. Cunningham then tells the other mob members to get back in their cars and leave them alone. The members listen, and Scout saves her father's life, without realising.