Michael Barns
March 31st, 2017
Values Essay
Ms. Bryant, 4 Period
Change And Privacy
In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” each of the main characters changed quite a bit. Through the experiences each character went through and the natural maturing that occurred in each of them, the characters were altered from the way they were at beginning of the book. The children, Scout and Jem, were the two most changed characters. However, Scout showed much more change than Jem did because of his mysterious hidden attitude. Scout matured from a helpless and naive child into a much more experienced and grown-up young lady.
As a growing young girl, Scout was learning and experiencing things just like any other child would though growing up. She got older and was able to understand things a lot better as well as being able to apply lessons she had learned in her everyday life (Lee 32). She began to act slightly more grown up in situations such as Aunt Alexandria’s dinner party (Lee 86-87). Scout forgot how much she despised her Aunt and how much she disliked dresses and joined the group of women in their conversations (Lee 81). Despite how she didn’t want to “act more like a lady”, she played along with her Aunt’s “campaign to teach Scout to be a lady” made an exception to please her Aunt and to create some peace between them (Lee 86-87). Upon hearing the news of Tom’s death she concludes “if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (Lee 89). This shows how Scout was beginning to act more ladylike for her Aunt Another way Scout changed a lot was in the way she treated Boo Radley. At the beginning of the book Jem, Dill, and herself enjoyed playing “Boo Radley” as a game and tormenting him by trying to have a chance to see him or prove their bravery by touching the house (Lee 15). As time went on, Scout’s fears and apprehensions regarding the Radley place slowly disappeared. She mentions how “the Radley Place had ceased to terrify me (her)…” As she matures and is more able to take care of herself, she realizes more and more that Boo Radley is a human being, just like herself (Lee 278). By the end of the book, Scout even finally begins to call him by his real name, Arthur Radley, or Mr. Arthur, instead of the nickname giving to him by the townspeople, Boo Radley (Lee 278-9). When Arthur saves the children’s lives the night Bob Ewell attacks them, Scout finally has her chance to see him. Without even being told, she knows that it is him. Instead of acting like a child about it, she maintains a very mature and adult-like attitude. She escorts him “to the chair farthest from Atticus and Mr. Tate. It was in a deep shadow. Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark” (Lee 251). At the end of the night, she walks him home and says goodnight to him, all the while acting like it was an everyday occurrence. She stepped up to the plate of adulthood, ignoring her childhood innocence to make this man feel as relaxed possible.
I believe that privacy in the workplace is becoming a problem. More employees are being monitored today than ever before and more companies are developing security. Employees don’t realize how often electronic monitoring happens in their work place. Some workers do not operate at their best performance due to this type of scrutiny. There are also several benefits. Not only do companies save money from employee theft and vandalism, employees can feel more confident that their coworkers who don’t pull their own weight will be terminated.
Home and at work are the places where people spend most of their time. As privacy is continuously be tested, there will be new laws and regulations as to exactly what our privacy rights are. With technology on the fastest growth in history there will also be laws on electronic privacy and the selling of personal information (Chomsky). Public interactions and dealings in business should be subject to some observation but the home should be where the right to privacy is the most important (Chomsky).
