ipl-logo

How Does Dill Show Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

981 Words4 Pages

Commonly, everyone thinks that the age that kids start to show personality traits that corresponds with an adult is between 14-20. Growing up and becoming an adult is a hard thing to do, but it is also one of the hardest things in life. Many authors use this concept as a main idea in their novels. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author expresses the responsibilities of being an adult and maturity, by the way the main characters develop throughout the story. Many kids today deal with the same problems that Scout and Jem do. The responsibilities of an adult are very hard to transition into. Many adult expect teenagers to understand these new feeling that they have and to deal with them on their own, even though they are …show more content…

All of these characters include Dill and Walter Cunningham also show maturity in their words and actions. Firstly, during the trial of Tom Robinson Dill starts crying out of nowhere and him and Scout have to leave the courtroom because Dill can not get a hold of himself (Lee 265-270). In the book, Dill explains that he was crying because he was sad for Tom Robinson and he thought that the court was not being fair with him and his case. Secondly, Walter is a good example of adult traits because he was raised in a way that made him an independent person that didn’t take anything he couldn’t repay. On the first day of school, Walter didn’t have a packed lunch or any money for lunch and Miss. Caroline offered to lent him money, but he would have to repay her the next day. Walter politely declined her offer multiply times, but he never said no, he just kept on shaking his head. Scout had to tell Miss. Caroline the reason behind Walter refusing this. Also when Scout was beating him up for getting her in trouble, he never tried to fight back, which is a trait that most adults need in life (26-31). In conclusion, Scout was not the only character that experienced coming of age in the

Show More
Related
1016 Words | 5 Pages

This changes him because he realizes that not everything has to go his way. The second example of Walter changing is when he loses the rest of the money. This changes him because he realizes how irresponsible and childish he was acting. The final example of

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

For example, Jem Finch, the gullible child who believed his society was flawless, isn’t the same person by the end of the novel. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates Jem’s maturity through his behavior and speech. To begin with, Jem exhibits his maturity through his actions. Lee demonstrates Jem’s advancing age when he tells Atticus about Dill hiding in their house.

Read More
806 Words | 4 Pages

Scout acts and responds based on what she knows to be “appropriate”, but Walter is in a whole different situation than her. She learns from Calpurnia that to practice compassion she has to realize others don’t live the same life as her, with the same privileges as her. Scout knows Walter is poor, but until this confrontation she does not try to understand how what she says may impact him differently. Once she does this, her respect for Walter increases and she is ashamed of her

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

As the novel progresses, Jem becomes less defiant and more understanding of adults. Jem witnesses the physical and moral courage of his father before and during the trial of

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.

Read More
1414 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the plot, he struggles with acceptance of his social status and economical situations, but ends up achieving true fulfillment in simply being proud of who he and his family are as people with aspirations. Walter’s evolution

Read More
429 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout life, humans go through stages of being babies, kids, and adults which are examples of coming of age. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch goes through a process of coming of age that is reflected in her interactions with other people and the lessons she learns. Scout's improvement throughout the narrative is significant to the themes of emotion, social groups, and justice. Scout is a young, silly child at the start of the book who has no concept of her surroundings. She is not aware of the social abuses of power that occur in her neighborhood, but as she gets older, she notices what has been happening in her neighborhood.

Read More
1302 Words | 6 Pages

Caroline when she innocently attempts to explain Walter Cunningham’s situation. During Scout’s first day of school, Miss Caroline offers to pay for Walter's lunch. Scout informs her about the Cunningham's poverty and says that Walter will not accept anything he cannot repay back. Scout perceives her actions as a mere attempt to enlighten Miss Caroline; however, she unconsciously judges Walter Cunningham based on Maycomb's social structure. This holds significance for Scout as it highlights her naive understanding and an exaggerated sense of children’s know it all attitude.

Read More
1664 Words | 7 Pages

He feels that if he cannot achieve greatness and get his family out of the slums of Chicago, then he has failed at everything. It not only concerns his family that he sees his human worth out of money, but it worries them because they are not able to trust him to be responsible and just when making decisions. While the Younger family wants to own a house and receive a stronger income, Walter is the only one who obsesses over it and allows it to alter the ways in which he treats important people in his life. Segregation caused dreams to become deferred, and weights were put onto the families during the 1950s. Due to segregation, they could not afford what white families could, and this was because they were paid less in the workforce.

Read More
428 Words | 2 Pages

Divorce a common act when a married couple splits up. Sometimes this causes problems, because they might have children. Although they have dispersed from each other, they might take care of their kids if they had any. Dill is a complex character in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and has to face issues like this. Dill in this story begins to acquire characteristics such as curiosity, rejection, and empathetic ness, Dill gets a lot of curiosity since he came to see his grandma in the summer, and met Jem and Scout.

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

Dill’s character brings out the playful innocence by his exaggerations and stories. “Dill recited this narrative” (Lee 186) about him being “bound in chains and left to die” (Lee 186) by his hateful stepfather. Because of this, he ran away to Maycomb and hid under Scout’s bed before being discovered. In actuality, he believed that his parents neglected him and he was upset. Being at the age of about seven, Dill had to have got on a train and walked many miles to reach his destination.

Read More
531 Words | 3 Pages

Scout changed a lot over the course of this story. She was exposed to many events that led to her gradually changing her way of life. She doesn’t change as much as Jem does or as fast as him, but she still changes. She learns to mature, understand things better, and treat people with respect.

Read More
1395 Words | 6 Pages

Scout learns that the reason why Walter is skinny and always looking for food is because his family is poor. It is because of Cunningham’s low income and little education, his social status is lowered. Again innocence is destroyed because due to Walter’s low income he is unable to advance in the social status because he is forced to help his father make ends meet while not being able to further his education. It creates an endless cycle of each descendent getting stuck in the same situation as Walter not being able to rise to higher levels of statuses.

Read More

More about How Does Dill Show Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document