Segregation and Scout's advance to the intellect of adulthood

Indivisible it says. Our country has never been such in any way. Civil wars, poverty, religious views: simply three examples of how divisible our country truly is. Since it was established it has been impossible for everyone to see "eye to eye" except when discriminating against a common factor. Whether that factor be based on race, sex, social circumstance, or any other characteristic a human may possess, it is the only thing that has the power to unify people. 

It took the catastrophe of 9/11 to wake people up and embrace one another for the common goal of helping those in need. A vast amount of people must die for society to realize their faults: that's at least the message our country has been encoding into our minds by their actions. 

I find it detestable that such vast boundaries between peoples of different beliefs are current in my life. Because of the actions of a few, many must suffer stereotype. Because of Columbine, trench coats were banned from high schools, middle-eastern peoples are thought as terrorists at first glance, african-americans as less intelligent and economically sound compared to white men. Japanese were imprisoned during WWII because they appeared the same as the enemy regardless to whether they were even from Japan. While these stereotypes are gathered from different eras, they all share a common perception in which I call "just in case." Just in case the rumors are true, I will assume what I  fear is true.

I have been subject to stereotypes becoming reality in this very town, to my great dissatisfaction, but I refuse to give up on the whole because of the actions of a few. This country is progressing slowly, and even though it has made many changes, it has far to travel still. 

I admire Scout and her deep understanding for such a young girl. She is the black sheep of Maycomb, as far as stereotypes for ladies in the south goes. Wearing overalls and climbing trees with the boys, she is fearless and the perfect example of what people should follow. She does not adhere to society's expectations, rather sets expectations for herself and pursues them with full impudence. 

She is a little girl with big morals as the story begins, and by the end she has even more of an adult frame of mind towards understanding human goodness, while not being oblivious to evil. At first she doesn't understand the differences between herself and the negro children, with financial status or their standing in the  social caste that exists in Maycomb at least. Her understanding is novice yet developed in certain ways. While Jem is experiencing many changes while he goes through puberty, Scout asks Atticus if Jem might have a tapeworm on pg. 105. This shows that while she may be further along than most children her age, some simple things have yet to enter her field of experience just yet. I think it adds an innocence to her character that hasn't been tainted by age.

With the absence of her age in the text, one would probably assume she is at least mid-way through her teenage years. Yet she is barely in grammar school. Her point of view is always open throughout the novel and with more experience she grows more understanding towards the visible prejudice in Maycomb. 

Her aunt is the very personification of ideals and traditions that she fights against. She would usually be the nurturing motherly figure that fills in the absence of the actual mother. In this story however, Jem and Scout find friendship from family friend and widow Miss Maudie Atkinson. Sharing the same passion for justice, she is a good role model for Scout who follows similar manners as her father.