It is hard to see the truth when looking through a veil of prejudice, until it is lifted and one can see the harsh reality that lies underneath. In the beginning of the novel To Kill A Mocking by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout Finch were ignorant and prejudice towards Boo Radley. This changed when both children witnessed Atticus Finch shoot the Mad Dog with deadly accuracy. By the end of the novel Jem and Scout evolved into socially aware, and understanding children who became conscious of the prejudice and discrimination that encompassed the minorities at the time. Prejudice is a powerful motivator that is used to block reasonable men and women from seeing equality, however, Jem and Scout's metamorphosis helped them see and understand the prejudice that was suffocating citizens of Maycomb.
Innocently, and without knowing it, Jem and Scout drew inequitable conclusions about people they knew nothing about, like Boo Radley. In the beginning, Scout and Jem prejudged Boo Radley, and made ignorant assumptions based on bizarre and unreliable rumors. This was evident when Jem gave Dill and Scout a description of Boo Radley, "Boo was about six and a half feet tall, he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were blood-stained, there was a long jagged scar that ran across his face, and his teeth were rotten and yellow, and he drooled most of the time" (13). This quotation proves how truly ignorant Jem, Dill, and Scout were for believing this flat out unrealistic description of someone, which was obviously completely false, as no man dines on raw squirrels and cats. Jem and Scout were extremely prejudiced without even knowing it.
Scout and Jem had a complete change of mind when they witnessed Atticus shoot the Mad Dog. Prior to this incident, Scout and Jem were under the mistaken impression that Atticus could not do anything, and was just a dull, boring suburban father, however, this all changed when both Jem and Scout found out that Atticus had an awe-inspiring skill, and instead of showing off his marksmanship capabilities, Atticus decided that it was only fair to remain reserved about it by not telling his kids.
