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

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Everyone faces the coming of age, displaying growth and maturity as we age. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of a young girl in Alabama during the Great Depression, a major economic crisis (1929–1939) caused by a significant stock market crash, which forced many into poverty. The book illustrates the perspective of an intelligent child opposing the much darker world of Maycomb County, Alabama, to establish the theme of coming of age. Throughout the novel, Lee utilizes the literary elements of character and symbolism to illustrate the mind of a growing child's first step into adulthood to illustrate the theme of coming of age. Symbolism plays a significant part in illustrating the theme of the coming of age, acting …show more content…

Her retrospect on the view of her neighborhood, cited earlier, explains what she says next: "Atticus was right. You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them" (285). These comments reveal how past events like Atticus's teachings, along with Scout's new perspective of her neighborhood, contributed to Scout's character. Even though she did not wear Boo Radley's shoes and walked around in them, it illustrates that she knows Boo Radley's much more pleasant person, not a squirrel-eating devil, whom she thought he was, but an observant and helpful person. Another example is when Scout gives her retrospect on Boo after her very last sighting and remarks, "Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us 2 soap dolls, a broken watch & chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, & our lives... We had given him nothing, and it made me sad" (282). Her sadness toward Boo highlights here gained empathy for the people around her, while her distinguishing other neighbors' behavior shows that she is aware of selfishness in the world. A third example would be when Scout walks Boo home after he whimpers, "Will you take me home?" (282). Scout's previous observations of Boo as frightening and villainous in previous chapters compared to her willingness to help Boo walk home displays her realization of Boo being an ordinary guy, devoid of any unfounded beliefs by her other neighbors. These examples show that character reveals the theme of the coming of

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She has started to lose her innocence, which leads her to be able to understand more of what people mean even when they say something else. Scout realizes that her and Jem’s savior was indeed Boo Radley: “‘Hey Boo,’ I said” (Lee 362). Boo Radley’s innocence leads him to be courageous by saving Jem and Scout. Boo has watched Jem and Scout through their times of crisis and as they have grown up. “His mouth was slightly open, and he looked at Jem from head to foot.

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Additionally, after being saved by Boo Radley, Scout walks him home, and as she stands at the porch that had previously been a symbol of fear, she realizes, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley Porch was enough.” (321). Fully seeing the world through Boo Radley’s perspective demonstrates her fully developed

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