Scout Finch Symbolism

Everybody has to face the bumps of growing up. As we grow up, we find meaning in things that we never noticed before. Through the worst days and the best days, everybody develops by reaching a better understanding and continuing on. The transition from the innocent childhood to a mature adulthood is a slow process that a person takes one step at a time. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme of growing up through symbolism. Scout Finch was a 6 year old girl, living in Maycomb, near the 1930’s. She lived her life relatively carefree, acting how she wished. Harper Lee uses conflict (External and Internal) to develop the theme of growing up, mainly seen in Scout. When Scout had began her school life in the 2nd grade, she had

Harper Lee uses symbolism to develop the theme of growing up, as seen in Boo Radley. The most significant time when Scout had bothered Boo, was when Scout, Jem, and Dill had jumped the Radleys fence to sneak up on Boo. Believing that they were caught, they begin running away, as they hear the “roar of a shotgun” (Lee, 71). Boo had been worried that he had seen a negro in his yard, using his shotgun as a way of warning the unknown people. Boo Radley was seen as a symbol for a Mockingbird, as he showed innocence and purity. Boo had done nothing but stay inside and try to create peace, just as how a mockingbird does nothing but make music for all to hear. To kill a mockingbird was seen as a sin, just as how scaring Boo Radley was also a sin. But as the story continues, the times where Scout sins by bothering Boo lessen, as she begins to understand and see life from Bob's point of view. Scout had ceased to be afraid of the Radley house, even having a “twinge of remorse when passing by the old place, at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley-” (Lee, 324). Scout had grown to understanding this mockingbird, this symbol of innocence. She had comprehended that the activities that she chose to tag along on had led to acts of persecution and ill-treatment. She had seen the small things that Boo had done for her, versus the somewhat cruel things that she had done to him. This passage represents Scouts own version of maturity, for she has grown into this better understanding. She had not been told this, however, she decided this upon herself and realized that her ways were childish and obscene. Boo Radley’s part in this novel was a mere lesson to help Scout grow, and these symbolic people are found in everybody's life, teaching them to be kind and try to see both