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Coming Of Age In Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

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Arian Weatherwax Teacher ELA 9, May, 2024. The “To Kill A Mockingbird Final Rough Draft” Introduction Paragraph (150 words) “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is based on a true story and the book is commonly used as an example of coming of age stories. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus, a white man, defends Tom Robinson in court and Bob Ewell, who is Maybelle Ewell's dad, is the woman that is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. After Tom Robison gets convicted, he is shot in jail. Bob Ewell says he will get back to Atticus if it's the last thing he does. Then closer to the end of the story Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout, and kills himself by falling on his knife. Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout, however unfortunately Jem broke his arm …show more content…

We also see the growing development of empathy and sympathy as taught to them by Atticus. Body Paragraph 2 (200 words) The theme of coming of age is also depicted as Scout’s becoming a woman living in their broken community in Maycomb and how her day to day interactions shape her character and make her grow as a human being. Maycomb, Scout Finch's hometown, is old, stuffy, and worn out. Atticus works nonstop to combat racism and social prejudice, in their hometown, which he describes as being "diseased and burdened". Four years later, she has come to the realization that her quiet neighbor is nothing to be afraid of and that being a lady doesn't equate to weakness. Scout transforms as a result of discovering what true bravery is, seeing other people perform, and realizing that things aren't always as they seem. Throughout the book, society molds and affects Scout by encouraging her personal development and preventing her from adopting the prejudices that society has produced. Scout states in the novel, "I believe there's only one kind of folks." People.

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Atticus Finch said “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.”(Lee 39). As a result of this quote out main character will change. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses the character and characterization of Scout to show how empathy can change someone’s life for the better. Throughout the book Scout changes quite a bit. In the beginning she was very tomboyish choosing to wear overalls instead of dresses, she also liked to beat other kids up.

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To Kill A Mockingbird: Coming of Age and Perspective How do we start to understand the people around us? In chapter 12 of “To Kill A Mockingbird” Harper Lee uses setting, conflict, and character in order to develop the theme of coming of age. Coming of age involves us recognizing that everyone has a different perspective. The character Scout, in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, learns this theme by realizing the variety of perspectives around her. Lee demonstrates how Scout is starting to recognize the different perspectives of the people around her by using the setting of a colored church, and comparing it to her own church.

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In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” there are numerous coming-of-age events with Jem and Scout, who are brother and sister. Scout is a different type of girl, she wears clothes that make her look like a tomboy, has her hair cut short to her shoulders and is innocent and naive. Jem is a boy who is starting to spark an interest in things such as football and guns. Scout and Jem grow up in a time of racial discrimination and segregation in Maycomb, Alabama. Yet, have a father who shows them a disparate perspective of thinking.

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Have you unfairly judged someone based on the way they look? In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, one of Scout’s coming-of-age moments is when she judges Mr. Raymond for being intoxicated. However, she realizes that he was just pretending to be drunk. The author, Harper Lee, uses conflict and deception to convey the theme that judging someone without being in their shoes is unjust. Moreover, in the novel, Scout is an arrogant kid who later in the book experiences a coming-of-age moment, and she starts to understand her community more.

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Scout's coming of age experience is a prominent theme throughout "To Kill a Mockingbird." In chapters 1 through 6, we see Scout starting to develop a sense of empathy and understanding towards others, particularly those who are different from her. For example, in chapter 3 we see Scout trying to understand why Walter Cunningham doesn't have any money to pay back Miss Caroline. This shows Scout's growing awareness of class differences and the struggles that other people may face. Additionally, in chapter 5, Scout learns about the concept of "mockingbirds" and how it's wrong to harm innocent creatures for no reason.

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Just as people grow in the real world, characters in a bildungsroman do the same. A bildungsroman is a book where a character goes from a state of relative immaturity to a state of maturity. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a bildungsroman about two kids named Jem and Scout who lived during the Great Depression. They have a father named Atticus Finch who is a lawyer; he was appointed to defend a black man who is falsely accused of rape.

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Harper Lee develops the coming-of-age theme at the end of the novel through Jem and Scout by finally making them put themselves in other people's shoes. Jem and Scout at first were very terrified of Boo Radley; their thoughts of him were rooted from the rumors surrounding him, and they couldn't understand why he never came out of his house. Now, as they have grown, they have come to be more empathetic and think of him as a real person causing Scout to begin to call him Arthur. Clearly, after learning how Maycomb truly is, Jem put himself in Arthur’s shoes and understood and related to him and his wanting to be separated from Maycomb society. For example, Jem states, “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the

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Scout is already wise beyond her years, but she continues to grow throughout a series of events in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The most important thing about Scout is her growth throughout events in the book. The context of To Kill A Mockingbird influenced Scout to change her identity and morality throughout her experiences with stereotypes and racism in Maycomb. The first way that Scout changed was by seeing and experiencing stereotypes in gender.

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Courage is not strength or skill, it’s simply standing up for what you believe in and what is right. This is the theme that was enrolled after Jem destroys Mrs.Dubose’s camellias and after she died in chapter 11. This passage also reveals Jem’s coming of age moment. After using conflict, symbolism, and point of view, Harper Lee was able to connect the theme with Jems coming of age moment.

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In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” on page 30 Atticus said, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”. This scene is a key coming to age scene for Scout. This saying helped Scout throughout the whole book. Throughout the book, Scout starts to take the advice Atticus gave her. She tries to understand people from their point of view now.

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To Kill a Mockingbird is important for teenagers to read because as states in many summaries or writing pieces, this book is about coming of age and the harshness of reality. This is not always an easy task for a few reasons. For example, learning that the world is not rainbows and butterflies is a hard, concept for people to grasp. People all over the world struggle to get through life and this book shows how life really is for all races, ethnicities,and lgbt people. The characters and their stories in To Kill a Mockingbird will bring a touching reality to anybody that reads it.

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