Sarah B
Mr. Iacono
Honors American Literature and Composition
May 15, 2023
Development and growth in To Kill a Mockingbird
The winding stone path creeps through the forest, leading to the wondrous open field.
Now, this path didn’t just appear. It takes time and work. Before this, the pathway remained one of the same, trees upon trees, nothing unique, nothing special. But slowly, these trees were cut down, and the stones were laid, revealing a bright new world. This path is named growth. It is a unique experience when people grow up, although this development doesn’t happen overnight. People need to cut down the trees and lay the stones for themselves. But, sometimes people can have help, through experiences and others. Growing up isn’t straightforward.
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In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses experiences and language to convey the theme of growing up for the better and worse throughout the novel.
Throughout the novel, it is shown that experiences significantly impact people's actions. “Literary analysts tend to praise Lee's depiction of the relationship of mortality to law and justice, but criticism usually overlooks the novel's view of the coming of age years of a tender girl, eight-year-old Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch” (Snodgrass). While inequality and racism are presiding themes within To Kill a Mockingbird, growing up is a topic that is impactful too. Through the sequence of events, the reader can see a change occurring in the main character. Not only are her beliefs altered, but her actions are brought on by new motives, such as a newfound desire to help others facing discrimination. In a world full of injustice and negativity, it is hard to prevent giving into these norms as one grows up, but with help from others, it is possible to overcome them. This is shown in the novel as Lee states, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard,
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But, as the novel progresses, less descriptive and imaginative words are seen. As she went through life, she started seeing the world for what it really is. She becomes exposed to the harsh realities of the world. Therefore, growing up can change a person for the worse and bring out the true realities of the actions of oneself as well as