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Essay On To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age

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Sean Adams Mrs. Andrews English 1 30 April 2024 TKMB coming of age In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters Scout and Jem go through important changes and grow throughout the novel. Two of the main events that show their coming of age are during the trial of Tom Robinson and the multiple encounters they experience with the mysterious Radley House. Specifically with Boo Radley himself. During the trial of Tom Robbinson, Scout and Jem both learn bad truths about racism and unfairness in the community they once thought was a joyful place. As they stand on the balcony of the courtroom and listen to the testimonies and evidence, they understand that Tom Robinson is an innocent man being falsely accused of a gruesome crime. This is a wake-up call for them, …show more content…

When Atticus speaks in the courtroom, the narrator says, “Atticus was speaking so quietly his voice was not more than a whisper, but every word carried across the room.” (Pg. 205). The 'Standard' is a 'Standard'. This shows how the kids were holding on to every word said, focused on the results. We also learn that “Jem’s face was a mixture of fear and fury,” (Pg. 204) which means the emotions they are feeling are very strong and unsure. The details given show how the trial is badly shaping the kids' understanding of the town they live in. The trial shows a deeper understanding of Jem’s and Scouts of the complexities of their community. They saw firsthand the power of unfairness and that the system biases towards people that are white and people in their community. This experience challenged the previous beliefs about

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They saw horrible things that happened during the case at courthouse. Jem and Scout saw a colored man be get called racial slursred by the other lawyer and jury. Both of them soon realized that Tom was wrongly convicted and called racial slurs. Thus both Scout and Jem realized what people actually think about the

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The racist and prejudice ideals established as social norms in the small town made it well known that any person of African American descent who was accused of a crime against white people in general was always found guilty in court. Picking it up from their parents, many kids would taunt the Finch children at the schoolhouse and they were growing accustomed to it, until verbal insults were thrown at them from a familiar voice. It was the voice of old Mrs. Dubose who brought Scout and Jem to a halt when she began shouting insults about their father, Atticus at them. Jem, Scout’s older brother absolutely snapped after hearing words such as, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”. Later going back and taking part in destructive behavior in Mrs. Dubose’s garden during her absence using the baton Scout had been holding, Jem destroyed parts of the bushes that were sure to not go unnoticed.

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