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Examples Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Between the Lines of To kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is an accurate depiction of a coming of age story in many different ways. You can see two of the characters (Scout and Jem) grow up throughout the novel. The setting of the book and the timing is excellent for these young kids to be growing up so innocent and then to see this big change happen in their small closed minded town. The children grow not just in the plain black and white of the paper, but metaphorically. The children grow up in between the lines of the novel. In the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is a little girl,who doesn't stand up her own opinions. By the end of the book Scout has no trouble speaking up to anyone. Her opinions are formed once people …show more content…

When scout finally gets to see Boo in the end after the whole Bob incident she has a higher respect for him. Boo changes the kids lives in unspeakable ways. By the end you don't see the kids trying to play around with Boo. Scout waited for Boo to come to her, like she had wanted in the beginning. The end of the book with Boo ties most of it together. The only words Boo says in the whole book are “Will you take me home?”. Those are very vitale words. Boo doesn't say anything at this point but he is seen in the book. Boo already “told” Scout he wanted to leave, before he started talking he squeezed her hand showing her that he wanted to go. Boo not saying anything develops his character in a way of keeping the nyster to the children and showing them that you can portray yourself without saying simply anything.
Throughout the book the children show many signs of growing up mentally. Scout and Jem go from a child mindset to a more mature adult way of thinking. Scout turns into her own and shows people she doesn't need to be the stereotypical way. The year or so the book is taking place in you see scout grow into her own character. Children take time to grow mentally, most of them don't even understand concepts like racism. Jem can fully understand what is going in the

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775 Words | 4 Pages

Boo sees Scout and Jem as his children. Boo has watched the kids grow up over the years. He's sorta laid back and comes in with his “children” need him. At the beginning of the book Boo has already been characterized as someone he's not. More towards the middle he starts to show up more but still is out of everyone's way.

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

Destruction of Character Through Pre-Judgment Judgment, often defined as an opinion or a conclusion, is a relevant term throughout Harper Lee’s writings (Merriam Webster). As seen in To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman the relevance of judgment is evident through discrimination of individuals skin color. At first glance, an average reader might perceive the novel as a story of an unconventional upbringing. Although this reader is not completely mistaken, a key point is lost. This point is the theme of pre-judgment and its destructiveness.

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1976 Words | 8 Pages

These stories develop a fearful curiosity of Boo, a fake identity one that barely reflects the poor man. However, as Scout grew up she ceased being scared of Boo, in place of this feeling she felt sorry for him and near the end of chapter 14 Scout and Dill come to the conclusion that the only reason Boo had never run off is because he had nowhere to run off to (157). Then later when she is on her way she admits that the Radley place has “ceased to terrify me” (263) she also defends Boo by saying that “Boo doesn’t mean anybody harm” (277) A statement which she most likely could not prove, but one she believes. Then finally, near the end of the book, her feelings change dramatically when she goes onto his porch and stands in his shoes where she ‘sees’ herself grow

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728 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scouts changing perspective of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley represents a coming of age moment because it demonstrates a breaking away from the childlike imagination that had previously explained all of their questions and superstitions about the Radley’s. A coming-of-age moment is the transition of thinking that occurs when someone learns empathy. At the start of the novel, in many situations, Scout and Jem demonstrate childish behavior and thinking when Jem is taunted into touching the side of the Radley home by Scout and Dill. The book reads, “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us” (18). From this portion of the novel we can tell that Jem and Scout clearly regarded the Radley home and its occupants with novelty and even fear.

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980 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning, the children cannot even go near Boo’s place without palpitation, but at the end, Scout is comfortable enough to walk Boo up to his front porch. Throughout the novel, Scout has changed her view of Boo after a chain of Boo’s actions toward her. As Scout grows older, she becomes wiser to understand her father’s lesson, “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 ” (39). Her father says this at the beginning, but till the end, thanks to the maturity combined with Boo’s actions that help Scout to understand it. She has matured enough to realize that people should not judge other people by rumor, but give them some chances to prove themselves.

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492 Words | 2 Pages

To kill a mocking bird Aren van hofwegen Do you stand up for what is right? In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem, Scout, and Atticus stand up for what they believe. Many people have problems with standing up in what they believe in because they are scared to stand up for what they believe in. Jem, Scout, and Atticus have no problem with that. First, Jem matured through the story by standing up for what he believes.

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1240 Words | 5 Pages

Maturing is something everyone goes through in life whether you go through it early or a little later in life. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows a lot about maturing. Growing up in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama where life was a lot more different from today, you mature much different and in different ways. Jem is one person who matures through the whole story and makes realizations about people around him, including his dad, Tom Robinson, and Mrs. Dubose. Jem goes into the story thinking his dad is just some old man but as he gets older, he realizes there is more to his dad.

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1247 Words | 5 Pages

Many children have adults in their lives who influence the way they turn out in the future. These people can affect the children in negative or positive ways. Scout learns the importance of respect from Calpurnia, the ways of the world, how to live life to the fullest, and walking in someone else’s shoes to understand them throughout the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee truly portrays Scout ’s coming of age by using the character’s Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Atticus as very important role models in Scout’s life.

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423 Words | 2 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird is a very engaging and very enlightening for all ages. His book tells a story about a family in the 1930’s. I chose to do a coming-of-age scene for Jem and Scout. I think the best scene is the forest scene when both Jem and Scout are attacked. In this essay I will follow how both Jem and Scout come-of-age in.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

Jem and Scout learn many valuable life lessons throughout the novel and although they “grow up” at a much faster rate than other children in Maycomb, they will become people that have lots of wisdom and have been exposed to the real world. The experiences that the children have throughout their childhood help them solve problems, think wisely, and shape their

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Children are very impressionable people. Almost everything around them changes them in some way. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Scout and Jem, start out as little kids who spend their days making up stories and playing sill games. Then their dad, who is a lawyer, takes on a case defending a black man who has been charged with rape. Since they live in Alabama, The whole family has to absorb some pretty ugly things, which forces Scout and Jem to grow up quickly, and it gives them a different and more mature view of the world.

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788 Words | 4 Pages

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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661 Words | 3 Pages

We all have to grow up someday to continue life. With books that focus on children we usually see how they progress in developing coming of age characteristics in the book. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, coming of age experiences is a big part of this book that shows different ways of looking at life. Scout and Jem undergo many of these conditions. The encounters help them mature throughout the novel with noticing the components and point of views in the situation.

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671 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird Coming of Age In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there a quite a few coming of age scenes. There are scenes where Jem, Dill, and Scout learn to mature a bit and learn that the world is different from how they thought it was when they were younger. The novel takes place in a time period in which the majority of the people were racist.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

(282). Scout's previous observations of Boo as frightening and villainous in previous chapters compared to her willingness to help Boo walk home displays her realization of Boo being an ordinary guy, devoid of any unfounded beliefs by her other neighbors. These examples show that character reveals the theme of the coming of

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