When is Scout honest?

Scout is a very direct and honest character all throughout Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. But, due to her youth, she does not always handle her direct honesty with social decorum, which gets her into trouble because her directness has a tendency to make those around her angry. Since Scout is such a direct and honest character, she serves as an excellent narrator to voice the author's tone. Through Scout, Lee gives us an honest look at some social injustices and tells us that not all of society's problems should be handled with social decorum; instead, some should be handled with direct honesty.

While examples of Scout's honesty can be found all throughout the book, one fascinating moment of honesty can be seen soon after the trial. After the trial, Scout begins the third grade. One day her third-grade class enters into a discussion about Hitler's treatment of the Jews. During the discussion, Scout's third-grade teacher, Miss Gates, speaks out against Hitler's treatment of the Jews by pointing out that one goal of democracies is to prevent people from persecution:

That's the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. ... Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. (Ch. 26)

However, Miss Gates's reflections on democracies surprises Scout, even angers her, because she distinctly remembers hearing Miss Gates make a very prejudiced comment to Miss Stephanie Crawford while exiting the courthouse after Tom Robinson's trial. Scout is so disturbed by her teacher's display of hypocrisy that she feels the need to have an honest conversation with someone older and wiser about the unfairness of Miss Gates's attitude, so she goes to Jem and explains what she had observed immediately after the trial:

I heard her say it's time somebody taught 'em a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home—. (Ch. 26)

Scout's purpose was to honestly and openly reflect on things that are disturbing her, yet Jem's reaction is very surprising: he is furious to the point of being physically violent with her. Since Scout is still very young, what she fails to realize is that Jem is still too upset by the unfairness he observed on the day of the trial to be able to talk about his feelings. Had Scout realized this, social decorum would have instinctively told her not to talk to Jem about her concerns but to talk to her father instead. Hence, this serves as one example in which Scout's direct honesty sadly makes people around her angry.

Yet, author Lee uses this scene to show that such social injustices need to be addressed with direct honesty, regardless of people's protestations. Therefore, Scout as a direct and honest narrator serves to voice Lee's tone throughout the book while Lee directly and honestly exposes and criticizes social injustices.