Harper Lee wrote the acclaimed book "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the 1950s, reflecting on her childhood and racism in the American South. By using a six-year-old child as the protagonist and narrator, Harper Lee is able to avoid making overt statements about racism and discrimination. The story starts with the mature Scout recalling her childhood experience. Since the young Scout can only infer what she is seeing or feeling, the readers practically mature alongside Scout, learning all of her lessons and going through all of her experiences. All in all, the book exemplifies the importance of the narrator more than any other book I have read.

First, a child’s first-person perspective will not interfere with the audience’s judgment and creates a sense of suspense. It can be imagined that if Atticus or another adult character was the narrator in the book, the story will become a completely different one. As a child, Scout has never had a moment to confront racism head-on. She is more like an observer on the side. The only time Scout confronts racism seems to be an incident in Chapter 15, where she talks to Mr. Cunningham in order to protect Atticus, but even then, the young Scout does not understand the meaning behind what happened. “This was the second time I heard Atticus ask that question in two days, and it meant somebody's man would get jumped.” (Lee, 265, Chapter 15). The author uses an innocent tone to narrate the story, and narrating from Scout’s perspective will allow the audience to have their own judgment.

Secondly, a child's perspective teaces the audience the core value of this story without preaching. Scout is the character that has undergone tremendous personal growth in the story and the audience grows with her. Atticus' subtle changes to her and the events of this summer have accelerated her growth. At the beginning of the book, the description of Boo Radly is “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off”(Lee,p7, chapter 1). As readers, we also sense the fear of Radly. Scout and Jem make fun of Boo Radly, but Scout gradually sense Radly's goodwill. Finally, after Radly saves them, Scout realizes that she couldn't understand a person through one-sided rumors and that every person has many sides. As readers, we also feel a sense of clarity and guilt for having misunderstood Radly in the past. Atticus also teaches Scout virtues like "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view" and "Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee,p172, chapter 26). These ideas and ways of touches not only Scout but also the audience, and that is also the reason why this book is a classical coming-of-age novel.

For this particular story, no one is a better narrator than Scout. Her eyes and voices allow readers to find out the real story and think about the profound topics. The readers grow and learn, as they discover and explore the world with Scout. The book gives me a lot to think about, such as the impact of family values and neighborhood on people's values.