When asked about future plans, a common answer given by individuals is to travel. One of the main appeals of traveling is the experience it gives one in the outside world. Traveling can expose an individual to new places and people, as well as moral views and opinions outside of those in their own society. Although one might want to depart from their hometown, what they have grown to experience in it is what makes up most of their identity. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, she demonstrates the opposing identities of people who live in the same community, but different society. As characters like Scout and Mayella grow in the same community of people, they experience different societies and influences. Her novel symbolizes how the identity of an individual is heavily influenced by society through how much of the world one sees, what moral views an individual is exposed to, and what actions the people around them perform. The availability of experiences in the physical world contributes to the influence of society on a person’s identity. In order for someone to form a strong opinion on the world, they need to gain …show more content…
From the extent of one’s experiences of the world, what moral views they are introduced to early on, and what role models they are able to look up to, one’s identity grows. Harper Lee demonstrates the impact of societal influences in To Kill A Mockingbird, with her varied characters and their views. She plays with the idea that as an individual ages, their identity ages with them, taking in details from the outside world. What eventually becomes the person is not born with them, but what they are exposed to. Ideas of racism, sexism, war, and violence are not born. They are told. A person grows into the identity shaped for them by their society, never given the chance to form their own opinions. An individual’s identity is anything but their