Examples Of Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

Elan Weil
2/24/23
LA, 8A
Maturing Leads to New Opportunities

-Mark Z Danieleowski once said. “Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.” In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, specific important experiences lead to maturity for key characters. A family called the Finches lives in Maycomb, Alabama. One day the Finches’ Aunt comes into town to help out around the house. The protagonist Scout lives with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus. Atticus takes on a case where a white woman accuses a black man, Tom Robinson of rape. He takes the case, knowing that his reputation can be destroyed. As the trial progresses Scout and Jem mature as they realize the world is not equal. Harper

First, as Jem grows older, Aunt Alexandra helps Scout understand that she needs female influence in her life. She does this because the Finches’ don't have a mother to look up to. “‘Jems growing up and you are too,’ she said to me. ‘We decided it would be best for you to have female influence. It won't be many years, Jean Lousie, before you become interested in clothes and boys’” (145). As the Finches’ are left motherless, Aunt Alexandra helps Scout get the female influence she needs, such as helping her realize that it is ok to have a female parental figure in her life. Second, Aunt Alexandra grows up spending her time in Maycomb when she refers to Atticus as brother, after Tom is deemed guilty. Earlier in the novel, Aunt Alexandra behaves as if she has no empathy for the Finches, but as result, she adapts to new ways to show compassion. “‘ I'm sorry brother’ she murmured. Having never heard her call Atticus ‘brother’ before, I stole a glance at Jem, but he was not listening” (242). After the courthouse announces Tom is guilty, Aunt Alexandra comforts Atticus as if she knows that the blood of Tom Robinson is on Atticus’s hands. As the days go by In Maycomb Aunt Alexandra realizes that she needs to comfort Atticus. This shows maturation because she is showing compassion for Atticus. Finally, When Jem and Scout are walking home at night from a Halloween carnival, Bob Ewell strikes the two of them when Boo Radley comes out of his house and stabs Bob Ewell. As a result, Jem is left unconscious. Later as a policeman is interrogating Atticus, AunAlexandraa gives Scout her muddy overalls back to comfort Scout. “I was sad, I did not know when he would wake up or if he would. All I wanted to know was if he was fine. To comfort me Aunty brought me my overalls” (303). Before the incident, Aunt Alexandra would have never given Scout her overalls, but as a sign of maturation, Aunt Alexandra