Jamie Neues
Matthew Wilusz
Language Arts II
29 March 2023
To Kill a Mockingbird and its Portrayal of Childhood Fear
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the fears of both Jem and Scout, which consisted of various rumors, myths, and stories, are false considering the lack of any true threat, at least when compared to the true fear felt during the attack by Bob Ewell. Fear is a core part of everyone’s lives, often changing as the person in question matures. This concept is portrayed through both Scout and Jem in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, both characters are constantly developing, and realizing the true nature of the world around them, maturing, along with their fears. A lot of the children’s early
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This belief in Hot Steams was during a time in which both Jem and Scout never had any worries, nor any realizations of how cruel the world could be. Hot Steams are a kind of ghost, which are further described by Jem with a quote that states, “Haven’t you ever walked along a lonesome road at night and passed by a hot place?” Jem asked Dill. “A Hot Steam’s somebody who can’t get to heaven, just wallows around on lonesome roads an‘ if you walk through him, when you die you’ll be one too, an’ you’ll go around at night suckin‘ people’s breath-” (Lee 37) This quote serves as a great representation of childhood fear, and how simple and innocent it is. The way in which Jem speaks of these Hot Steams, are reminiscent of a story, one that may could be interpreted by the reader as something to keep kids from walking alone at night. While scout did not believe in Hot Steams, the fact that she believed in various other stories such as those about Boo Radley, goes to show that both her and Jem have not yet understood that true fear resides in what is unexpected, like what happened with the attack by Bob Ewell on