Atticus' final line is important for several reasons. On the
surface, he is reinforcing Scout's statement that Stoner's Boy (one of the characters in the
story that Atticus has been reading to her) was a good guy, in spite of some of the other
characters who thought he was
"... messin' up their clubhouse an' throwin' ink all over
it, an'..."
Like Boo Radley, no one
knew what Stoner's Boy looked like, and Stoner's Boy had never been caught committing any of the
things of which he was accused. Harper Lee deliberately creates this parallel between the two
characters, and Atticus' final advice,
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see
them"
seems to show his adult
understanding of the comparison. The sleepy Scout is apparently referring to Stoner's Boy, but
Atticus's answer--coming after a long night in which his children were nearly killed--probably
has Boo in mind. Atticus' answer also refers to his earlier advice to Scout about tolerance:
that
"You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it."
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