The Theme Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

As a youthful and curious child, Jean Louise (Scout) Finch began to realize the reality of the world she is living in. You may see her as an innocent little child but she may experience things that are not innocent or easy to experience. To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel set in the South during the early 1930s. Scout lived in Maycomb County, Alabama which was a very racist and unequal place. In this town, Scout has an older brother Jem and her father, Atticus. This was a very small town, where everyone that lived there knew each other. People in Maycomb County were known as impulsive, prejudiced, and opinionated people. The author Harper Lee expresses the idea of coming of age through the character Scout Finch. Her intelligence has her understand

Caroline, her first-grade teacher in elementary. Scout was gifted with extreme intelligence but that came with a price. Miss. Caroline was a young new teacher at Maycomb County and she didn’t know much about the students in her classroom. Young Scout tried to inform Miss. Caroline of the financial circumstances of one of her classmates, Walter Cunningham because he was extremely poor and wouldn’t accept money from Miss. Caroline to buy lunch. Scout was trying to be beneficial to Miss. Caroline but that led her teacher not to like her. According to the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” states, “‘You’re shamin him Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stove wood’. Miss Caroline stood stock still, then grabbed me by the collar and hauled me back to her desk. ‘Jean Louise I’ve had enough of you this morning… hold out your hand.’ I thought she was going to spit in it… Miss Caroline picked up her ruler, gave me half a dozen quick little pats, then told me to stand in the corner”(Harper Lee, 28). This shows that Scout might feel she did something very wrong and she will learn to stay out of other people’s business or problems. Scout may think that she can’t stand up for her classmates which causes her to not like her teacher who should be a role model to

As a child, Scout is allowed to dress and act the way she wants. Aunt Alexandra is constantly forcing the idea that Scout should be “acting ladylike” and mature because she’s a lady. According to the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” it states, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire…When I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants” (Harper Lee, 108). Scout grew up under the influence of her older brother Jem and father Atticus. Scout didn’t have a proper mother figure so she didn’t know better but that didn’t stop her from getting dirty and doing wild things. This shows that Aunt Alexandra is trying to change Scout’s lifestyle and prevent her from enjoying the things she