Jean Louise Finch is an innocent little girl who is faced with many controversial situations at a young age. Luckily, her innocence and youth might be protective shields that help her to filter the tragic adult issues she faces. For the most part, however, she is lucky to have good, strong role models who show her first-hand how to cope with the harsh vicissitudes of life. Atticus, Jem, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra all teach Scout to remain calm and not worry, keep her head rather than fight, and act like a lady and be an example.
Scout's brother is four years older than she is, but he is the bridge between childhood and understanding adulthood. Jem is not only brave, but generally cool-headed because he keeps himself in check. He also watches Atticus's example and follows suit. For instance, Jem's coping strategy is one he learned from watching his father in challenging situations. If Atticus is calm, then Jem remains calm. He passes this onto Scout while they watch Miss Maudie's house burn down. Both Jem and Scout start to get really scared, but Jem calms down by saying the following:
"'Don't worry, Scout, it ain't time to worry yet, . . . Looka yonder.'
Atticus was standing with his hands in his overcoat pockets. He might have been watching a football game. Miss Maudie was beside him.
'See there, he's not worried yet, . . . Let's don't pester him, he'll know when it's time,' said Jem" (70).
Jem teaches his little sister to watch Atticus to know if it's time to worry or not. He and Atticus both tell her not to worry multiple times, which teaches her to pause, watch and listen before reacting to a crisis.
Next, Atticus always has a keen sense of understanding other people, which also transfers into good advice. The first great advice this father gives to his young daughter is how to get along with people in life. Sometimes people push buttons that can set us off, but we shouldn't be affected by them. Atticus says the following to help Scout cope with other people:
"First of all, . . . if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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" (30).
This advice is clearly teaching her to see life through other people's eyes and not to react so quickly when people do things she doesn't like. Later, after Scout beats up her cousin for calling her father a bad name, he let's her listen in on a discussion he has about her with Uncle Jack:
"Scout's got to learn to keep her head and learn soon, with what's in store for her these next few months. She's coming along, though. Jem's getting older and she follows his example a good bit now. All she needs is assistance sometimes. . . she know I know she tries. That's what makes the difference. What bothers me is that she and Jem will have to absorb some ugly things pretty soon. I'm not worried about Jem keeping his head, but Scout'd just as soon jump on someone as look at him if her pride's at stake" (88).
By allowing Scout to hear this, she understands what is expected of her and what she needs to work on to be prepared for future problems. The calm way Atticus teaches helps to lock down the expectation, but also gives her room to practice her coping skills.
Finally, Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra provide the feminine touch that Scout needs to bear life's problems like a woman. They teach her patience, logical reasoning, and charity. They teach her to keep her head in front of company during tea parties even though the guests might be outright bigots. Such is the case when Atticus takes Calpurnia away from the party to go tell Helen her husband died. Aunt Alexandra's guests had been gossiping harshly about social status and racism and finding out about Tom's death and all that Atticus had to bear that year takes its toll. Alexandra becomes overwhelmed and leaves the party. Scout then witnesses Maudie coax her back into the room by saying that there are a handful of people in Maycomb who have to bear the burden of being good examples. They all go back to the party and Scout explains what coping strategies she's learned by saying the following:
"Aunt Alexandra looked across the room at me and smiled. She looked at a tray of cookies on the table and nodded at them. . . With my best company manners, I asked [Mrs. Merriweather] if she would have some.
After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I" (237).
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