Foil

Character Role Analysis

Jean Louise/Atticus Finch

Jean Louise and Atticus Finch are basically the same person. Raised by her single father, Jean Louise/Scout talked like him, acted like him, even dressed like him. (C'mon, you know Atticus wore overalls a boy.) And she thought that she thought like him.

Thinking about thinking is hard stuff, but when Jean Louise thinks her thoughts are different from the thoughts her father thinks (say that five times fast!) she thinks she needs to give him a piece of her mind… even if a piece of her mind is a chip off the old block.

These two are really quite similar; they just come from different generations. And despite having offensive, racist thoughts, Atticus is aware he has these thoughts, and he's aware of his hypocrisy. We're not saying that excuses him (far from it) but it makes him different from his daughter, whose journey in this book is one that starts at obliviousness and ends in painful self-awareness.

How much of Jean Louise's anger at Atticus for his hypocrisy is rage misdirected from her own personal hypocrisy? Is she aware of her herself more at the end?