To Kill A Mockingbird: Scout's Development "Select a novel studied by you where at least one of the principal characters is a young person. Discuss what you consider to be the most important influence in the novel in helping that young person to develop." Jean-Louise Finch (Scout) is the main character in Harper Lee's "To kill a mockingbird". She is a young girl who matures in the course of the novel. The most important influence in her development is clearly her father, Atticus. Unlike almost all other adults in Scout's environment, he is not in any way prejudiced against the black population of Maycomb,