A Child’s Perspective
	'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee revolves around Scout, a 7 year old girl that is living in Maycomb, Alabama during the Segregation era of the United States. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is defending an African American against the rape of a white woman. However, Scout remains innocent to the world until the trial begins to pick up pace. In the story 'To Kill a Mockingbird', Harper Lee uses a young girl’s (Scout) exposure the prejudiced people of Maycomb County to illustrate that when a person experiences social inequality, they begin to question it. Gradually, the exposure leads to a loss of innocence.
	When Jem and Scout are taken to First Purchase African M.E. By Calpurnia, they are exposed to prejudice as they are approached by a black woman named Lula who does not agree with them attending the Church. Lula asks Calpurnia “why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church” with Calpurnia responding “They’d my comp’ny”. Jem and Scout are mortified, Jem saying “Let’s go home, Cal, they don’t want us here—” (Lee 63). When Lula asks why there was “white chillun in nigger church”, she is acting prejudiced towards Jem and Scout due to her belief that since they are of different skin color, they should not mix. For her to call the church a “nigger church”, she is dehumanizing herself as well as the black folk that take part of it. Additionally, she is also adding a racially charged adjective to the church which implies that each race belongs to their own church. Calpurnia notices Lula’s prejudice, and tells her “they’re my comp’ny”, telling Lula that although Jem and Scout are white, they are still welcomed. Calpurnia says this to establish a sense of unity and acceptance between both whites and blacks. As Jem tells Cal “they don’t want us here”, Jem notes of the prejudice Lula has displayed and believes he and Scout are not welcomed due to them being white. Scout is first exposed to the prejudiced people of Maycomb here, which eventually leads to her loss of innocence.
 	As Scout is exposed to further injustice during the rape trial, she begins to question the concept of prejudice. She is exposed to the way many people are mistreated and the way people react to discriminatory circumstances. When Scout first came to the courtroom, she overhears a group of men saying Atticus has to defend Tom Robinson. Scout thinks, “‘But did that explain the town’s attitude? The court appointed Atticus to defend him. Atticus aimed to defend him. That’s what they didn’t like about it. It was confusing.’” Her use of short sentences and simple diction implies that she still has a childlike perspective of the situation at hand. Although Scout does not fully understand what the adults are saying, she is able to comprehend that they do not believe in Atticus, a white male, defending a black man, Tom Robinson, in court. Scout questions this, asking if it “explains the town’s attitude” toward the prejudice on display and stating it’s “why they didn’t like about it”. Harper Lee has Scout question the “town’s attitude” to demonstrate a side of prejudice in men being questioned by Scout, a young and naïve girl. The idea of a white man supporting a black man is unheard of; in the group’s perspective, Tom Robinson is automatically guilty because he is a black male, regardless of the facts and evidence presented. In Scout’s eyes, there is nothing wrong with Tom Robinson being a black male, and the idea of him being viewed as "less than" confuses her due to her not realizing the circumstances surrounding the trial and the prejudice and discrimination that follows it. To Scout, this trial is something normal, but it is actually a trial based on prejudice & honesty.
	 As the rape trial finishes, Scout believes that discriminating and being prejudiced towards other people based on their race is *bad*. While Scout is in school, Miss Gates is having the kids participate in “Current Events period”, where one kid says a man named “Adolf Hitler” is persecuting Jewish people in Europe. The teacher says “‘Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced’”. Scout takes note of the hypocrisy of this statement and asks “‘Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about the folks right at home?’”. Miss Gates believes it outrageous that Hitler is persecuting the Jews, but doesn’t even blink an eye at how she is ‘“ugly about the folks right at home”’. Scout is able to conclude that Miss Gates doesn’t believe in the discrimination of whites, but to non-whites it’s fair game. Harper Lee includes Miss Gates’s hypocrisy to suggest a double standard in prejudice: as long as discrimination applies to non-whites it’s alright. Secondly, Harper Lee has Scout realize the hypocrisy to show a child’s innocence dwindling into virtually nothing. Scout was originally a small girl that had no idea of the prejudice in her town, but over time she becomes aware of the clear prejudice that surrounds her.
	 As a person grows up, the circumstances surrounding their upbringing begin to influence the way they portray the world and those surrounding them. Scout was very oblivious to many things around her, but over time she was able to form her own opinions on the things she experienced. Moral growth is only able to take place if a person has experienced harsh events and realize the true reality; not everyone is treated equally but that doesn’t mean prejudice and discrimination is the only option. Treating everyone fairly is possible, it just requires a strong will and the ability to not give into mob mentality.