Scout: An Ideal Modern Daughter?

He says: Scout is the kind of daughter that most modern fathers hope to raise. She's bright, witty, and thinks independently; she's a reader and a thinker; she doesn't put up much with boys' guff; she shows empathy for others beyond her years.

In fact, she reminds me a lot of my own daughter! Aren't I lucky! :)

She says: She's also the kind of daughter us modern mothers would like to raise.  So, the question that comes to my mind is how?  How has Atticus achieved this success?  Is it in his treating his children almost as equals such as with his, "last-will-and-testament-diction", or the fact that he views everyone as equals and as a result his children have grown and learned from his example?

Or, has Scout's independence and strength come about as a necessary coping mechanism.  In our initial introduction to Scout we are made painfully aware that the only female influence in her life is that of their house keeper Calpurnia.  Would Scout be different if her mother were still a part of her life?  Better?  Worse?  Is she seeking that maternal influence from Miss Maudie when she finds refuge with her as the boys grow closer and she gets shouldered out of their trio?

He says: Scout, I think you hit the nail on the head! Parenting by example is one of my soap-box topics! As a parent, of course you must tell your children what's right and what's wrong. But my scientifically undocumented opinion is that an example is worth a thousand words. Or, to say it a different way: monkey see--monkey do!! :)

It is sad that Scout had to grow up without a mother. But, as you point out, she does have some female role-models. As a result, she seems to have developed competence in both the male and female sides of life. She's both Yin and Yang. Probably not adequate compensation for being mother-less, but it makes her a powerful character!

She says: We should all be so lucky as to have more *Scouts* in our lives.

Feisty Female??

She says: In the first part of the book we are introduced to Scout's teacher Miss Caroline who's description is one of ultimate femininity:

She had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore crimson fingernail polish [I like this woman already]. She also wore high-heeled pumps and a red-and-white-stripped dress.  She looked and smelled like a pepper-mint drop.

When we hold that up to the male student body of Scout's class, also introduced in the same chapter, with their "hook worms", "absence of shoes" and "cooties" one has to wonder if we are getting a lesson in the socioeconomic make up of Maycomb County or if we're getting  a little insight into Lee's conscious/unconscious opinion of the opposite sex.  We know that Lee graduated from an all-women college and that she was publishing in the 1960's...could any of those factors have contributed to a liberal feminist undertone to her book?

He says: I didn't have any teachers in grade school who looked or smelled like any kind of candy. But I do remember one who smelled like paint thinner!

Anyway, to quote you: "Liberal feminist undertone". Yikes, Scout--what have I gotten myself into? Ha, ha.

Seriously, Miss Caroline doesn't impress me. She discourages Scout from reading! What kind of teacher does that??

I'm sure Miss Caroline was a product of her time (aren't we all?) and apparently of an educational system that  taught her that teachers (a) must make sure that all of her students fit into the mold and (b) as a corollary, must stamp out excellence wherever it pokes up its terrifying head! Kind of the whack-a-mole theory of teacher education.

Not sure you really wanted to talk about Miss Caroline anyway. Maybe you wanted to talk more about Harper Lee. Isn't it interesting that she dropped her first name (Nelle). I wonder at what point in her career she did that? Did she make the decision or was it maybe some editor/publisher? And do you think anyone ever read "To Kill a Mockingbird" without knowing that the author was a woman?

She says: Paint thinner?  I am hoping this was your art teacher?

Ha, ha, ha, I noticed your crafty avoidance of the "Liberal feminist undertone" question...hot water, Atticus, a whole lot of hot water is what you've gotten yourself into ;-)

Atty, I agree with you whole-heartedly regarding Miss Caroline, not exactly a model for furthering the intellect of a budding young mind.  It kind of makes me wonder if Miss Caroline is based on someone Lee might have known?  Maybe in college?  Lee was a tomboy herself, I have to wonder if her very feminine description is in no way a compliment, but rather an insult.  It doesn't take her long to fleece out the weak side of this overbearing-narrow-sighted teacher (Disclaimer: crimson fingernail polish is in no way a sign of weakness, if anything, for those of us that delight and indulge in such a thing [myself included] we know how empowering the right shade of red can be [wink]).

Whack-a-mole teacher education???  Let's hope this is something that was limited to the 19th century and that we've come a bit further in our education systems.

As to Lee dropping her first name, I remember J.K. Rowling (Joanne, or "Jo"...the K isn't actually her initial, it's to honor her Grandmother Kathleen) disclosing that her publishers wanted her to use a pen name as they figured the target male/boy audience she was aiming for may not have been as apt to follow a female author.  Do you think something like that had anything to do with Lee's choice so many decades ago?

"She says", "He says"

She says: It all started with the untimely passing of J.D. Salinger and my renewed interest in Catcher In The Rye. I had read it before, we both had, but we didn't know each other then and we found ourselves, a bit older, a bit wiser, and apt to read those lasting words differently now that life had taught us a thing or two. It was within that discussion that we realized how differently we viewed the book. Not because we come from different walks of life. Not because we're at different stages in those lives and not because the book itself had changed, but simply because...he's a boy and I'm a girl.

He says: The next step was that we surmised that many other books might be interpreted differently based on the reader's gender. And that it might be interesting to talk about the differences because discussion might reveal things about the book that might otherwise be left hidden.

She says: And then we decided to do an experiment. We'll read a book and then blog a conversation with each other, and with anyone else who cares to participate, about the gender-specific differences that we find interesting.

He says: Sounds like fun! What book should we start with?

She says: It's going to have to be huge, something epic, a book everyone can relate to...it's going to have to have won awards, BIG awards.  Something iconic, historical, timeless, something we can launch a blog off of, basically, it's going to have to have everything.  If the book is good enough, maybe people won't notice what You and I are lacking (wink).  It's going to have to be To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

He says: Hey, great choice! I'll call you "Scout" and you can call me "Atticus".