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Examples Of Maturation In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The Maturation of Jem Finch When an adult hears the word “teenager,” oftentimes many negative tropes come to mind- perhaps moodiness or rebellion or maybe just pure trouble. However, the reality of being an adolescent is much deeper than these stereotypes suggest. It is a transformative phase of self-definition and exploration, as teenagers leave behind the carefreeness of childhood and start to define who they are in the world and what values they hold. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem Finch is no exception. Throughout her novel, Lee uses the literary tools of point of view, foreshadowing, and motif to create a bildungsroman, or a story about a character’s exploration from innocence to experience, around Jem’s character. By telling …show more content…

As the novel progresses, Scout’s perception of Jem begins to evolve, casting him in a much more negative light. The previously equal dynamic between the two children begins to deteriorate as he starts to distance himself from Scout and past childhood pursuits, instead choosing to critically reevaluate his own personal values. This evolution becomes strikingly apparent when Scout observes Jem's determined “imposition” of what she deems as "alien values," a rapid transformation that unfolds seemingly “overnight.” (153). By showcasing Scout’s negative feelings towards these changes in Jem, the reader is encouraged to critically analyze how Jem is starting to embrace a new set of morals, which may be foreign or uncomfortable to Scout. This change in perception tactfully encourages consideration of the subtleties of how Jem's developing moral compass and character as an emerging adolescent are starting to shift away from the values of Scout’s character, who is still very much a …show more content…

Following Tom Robinson’s unjust guilty verdict, he begins to grasp how the town’s hostility and prejudices contributed to Boo Radley’s motives to remain isolated, which he previously failed to pick up on, signifying Jem’s deeper empathy and maturation in his perception of others and his growing awareness of the underlying problems with society. Harper Lee's choice of Scout's point of view as Jem’s younger sister deftly illustrates Jem's complex character development and contributes to the bildungsroman around his character, as he enters adolescence and begins to develop both a greater appreciation for society’s problems and a newfound empathy for the people victimized by judgemental and discriminatory societies. In addition, throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee skillfully employs foreshadowing to connect crucial moments in Jem's character growth to the narrative's exposition, thereby provoking readers to contemplate the profound changes his character has undergone as the novel has

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Unfortunately, difficult childhood experiences still define adulthood even today. Harper Lee illustrates how childhoods are being shown as innocent, as well as how they can shape a person's future. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she describes how difficult childhood experiences shape the future of kids; in America today, progress has not been made. Childhood is described as a time when children are young, innocent, and filled with a lack of knowledge when they are being put into these situations. In this novel, Jem and Scout, Jem’s sister, go through many troubles finding the truth about their surrounding racial community to being more mature and grown up after watching a trial about an African American being accused of raping a white woman.

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The Growth of Jem In Harper Lee's To kill a mockingbird,Jem Finch undergoes a significant transformation from a young boy to a mature adolescent. Jem’s growth is marked by the loss of innocence through various events and experiences. In this essay, I will go through how Jem changes and grows and loses his innocence. This will help everyone understand why I pick Jem Finch instead of Scout Finch

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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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Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout 's perception of courage drastically changes their behavior as they mature. They learn a lot about courage throughout the novel from their father Atticus and what they learn from him influences their choices and opinions. Although Jem is older than Scout, they both experience change in their behavior. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is still a young boy. He is defiant towards Atticus, he plays all the usual childhood games with Scout and Dill, and he engages in the younger children’s obsession with Boo Radley.

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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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Scout changes over time, and Atticus is flawed. For example, how Scout matures and learns the true definition of acceptance and compassion shows how Scout matured over time and when Atticus chose not to take Tom Robinson’s case to the Supreme Court reveals that Atticus is flawed and that provides the readers a sense of naturalness of the

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According to Hodgkinson et al, there are “disparities in poverty rates depending on age, race or ethnicity, family structure, and geographic location. Although the largest number of poor and low income children are white, minority children are disproportionately affected, particularly African American, American Indian, and Hispanic children. In 2013, Hispanic and African American children were ~3 times more likely than white and Asian children to be poor. Children raised by single parents and children raised in the South or West are also more likely to be poor or low income than children residing in the Northeast” (Hodgkinson et al, 2016). Children and youth are a vulnerable population because they have no control over their situation or environment;

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The structure of the book shows the shaping of the Scout’s character of innocent behavior to maturity. Scout develops her empathy and maturity throughout the book by the reflection of other characters and occurring events.

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Remember the days spent dancing with imaginary friends, tea parties with stuffed animals who could talk, then going to bed with the boogie man under the bed? The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about Jem and Scouts journey through their youth as they work to deal with tough subjects such as rape, racism, and the realization that the world is not how they once viewed it. Throughout the story, Lee demonstrates the loss of childhood innocence, which shows that one's true perspective of the world is obtained through maturity. To begin with, all children experience innocence in their youth, but as they grow up, their understanding of the real world betters.

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