In a powerful scene in the classic film, To Kill a Mockingbird; Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, is on the courthouse steps standing guard over Tom Robinson, an African-American prisoner whom he is defending. A mob of townspeople and local farmers approaches the courthouse, demanding that Atticus turn over Robinson; they are intent on administering their own form of vigilante justice. Suddenly, Atticus's young daughter Scout steps forward. She doesn't understand what's about to happen, and begins to address people in the crowd, "Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How's your boy? I like Walter, but I haven't seen him in a while." As Scout innocently addresses a number of individuals in the crowd, they begin to leave one by one, until the whole lynch mob is disbanded. Scout's behavior disrupts the __________ that might have led to a lynching.

Question

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Scout's behavior disrupts the deindividuation of the mob. Deindividuation occurs when individuals lose their sense of individual identity and responsibility in a group, often leading to impulsive and destructive behavior. Scout's personal and individual interactions with each person in the mob disrupted this sense of deindividuation and reminded them of their individual responsibility and moral compass.

In a Powerful Scene in the Classic Film, to Kill