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How are Atticus and Scout presented in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Each of these characters is complex, just like individuals are in real life. As a result, the way they are represented is multi-faceted.


Scout is presented as innocent, rowdy, intelligent, insensitive to some things and overly sensitive to others, ignorant (meaning she literally does not know certain things due to her age), moral, precocious, and genuine. Because she is only six when the book begins, she has a lot of room for growth as the story progresses. Her interactions with some people are different than others, so she is presented in different ways according to those interactions and circumstances. For example, she is a tomboy and her "rowdy" side is often seen in the chapters of the book where she is playing with Jem and Dill, or when she is getting into scraps with children at school or with her cousin Frances. 


Atticus is presented in an overwhelmingly positive light in the novel. He is literally considered one of best fictional characters in literature in terms of how "good" he is in nature. He is presented as being moral, fair, respectful, intelligent, thoughtful, wise (different than intelligent), careful, honest, genuine, caring, tolerant, and loving. Atticus plays a smaller role in the beginning of the novel because so much of it focuses on Scout, Jem, and Dill. However, once the Tom Robinson case comes into full play, we learn a lot more about Atticus. For example, each of the traits listed above can be seen as he defends Tom in front of a town eager to convict him. 

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