Question

Discuss how Scout’s race affects the tone, voice, and content of the narration

Answer 1

Scout is an informative and interesting character because she embodies a contradiction. In one sense, the fact that Scout is white creates certain expectations surrounding her character. Most white people in the book feel superior to black people. Moreover, they are constrained by social expectations and prejudice. On the other hand, Scout is young and rebellious, and this allows her to escape most of these constraints. Therefore, the point of view that Scout offers is one of being able to see what white society is like, but not agreeing or conforming to it. In this way, she is able to highlight the contradictions and the absurdity of society during that time period.

Answer 2

The fact Scout is White creates a major impact on the tone, voice, and content. Being White means she is part of the majority race of her town and nation generally. So she is expected to have White racism in her narration. But the problem is that her perspectives are different from the majority. Therefore her tone, voice, and language content becomes divergent. It implies that her views may be the hopeful new voice for Whites and what  the author hopes to stress.