ipl-logo

Theme Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

412 Words2 Pages

One key coming of age scene in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is when Jem and Scout attend Tom Robinson’s trial and witness the injustices of the legal system.The following passages from chapter 20 highlights the tension in the courtroom and the children’s reactions to the trial. “Judge Tylor was polling the jury” ‘Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty...’ I peeked at Jem,his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail,and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty’’was a separate stab between them.Someone was me,but i was reluctant to take my eyes from the people below us,and from the image of Atticus’s lonely,lonely walk down the aisle’’. Lee employs several literary elements in this passage to convey the emotions and themes of the novel. …show more content…

Additionally,the image of Atticus’s “lonely,loney walk” highlights the isolation of those who stand up if right,even when it is unpopular. The use of symbolism is also evident in this passage,as the repeated use of “guilty” highlights the flawed and biased nature of the justice system. The word takes on a symbolic meaning beyond its literal definition,representing the systemic racism and prejudice that permeate Maycomb society. The fact that Jem feels each “guilty” as a “separate stab” emphasizes the personal impact of this injustice on him and his family. Finally,Lee employs foreshadowing in this passage, hinting at the eventual outcome of the trial and the impact it will have on the children’s understanding of the world. The fact that Jem is experiencing such intense emotions and physical reactions suggests that he will be deeply affected by the trial’s outcome and may struggle to reconcile the injustice he has witnessed with his previous beliefs about the fairness and impartiality of the

Show More
Related
1103 Words | 5 Pages

In Lee’s book, it is shown through the innocence of a child that Tom Robinson is not guilty, and that the jury convicted him for no reason other than their own prejudiced values and pressure from other prejudiced townspeople. After the outcome of the trial a young boy named Jem questions “How could they, how could they do it?” and his father answers. “I don't know but they did, they’ve done it before tonight, and they will probably do it again.”(Lee 215).

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting . . . ‘It ain’t right, Atticus,’ said Jem” (242). Jem’s original reactions to the case are confusion, shock, and anger. Lee flawlessly contrasts Jem’s anger with the cheerful crowd to help highlight his immaturity and show that he is the only one upset with the ruling. Lee also illustrates Jem repeatedly saying that the result is not right, portraying that Jem does not yet recognize the prejudice within the jury.

Read More
1030 Words | 5 Pages

But that didn’t change what would actually happen. Jem has to accept the fact that he can’t do anything to change the jurors minds. Each “stab” of the word guilty between his shoulders indicates that he is losing his innocence with each person's claim of guilty. Then in chapter 22 after the trial was over and the Finches began walking home, Scout describes, “It was Jem's turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. '

Read More
772 Words | 4 Pages

As Sheriff Tate is reading the jury’s votes,”Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…,”(Lee 240) Scout describes Jem gripping the balcony railing so tight his knuckles turn white and wincing at every “guilty” he heard. The ruling ruling is very unfair. On the other hand , for many reasons, it could have been predicted. Then when Jem makes it outside to Atticus, he is saying,”It ain’t right.”(Lee 242) over and over again.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

It is during the trial of Tom Robinson that he truly understands the malevolent world and its mindset. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered…” (212). In this quote, Jem realizes the verdict and knows how wrong it was.

Read More
1240 Words | 5 Pages

Maturing is something everyone goes through in life whether you go through it early or a little later in life. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows a lot about maturing. Growing up in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama where life was a lot more different from today, you mature much different and in different ways. Jem is one person who matures through the whole story and makes realizations about people around him, including his dad, Tom Robinson, and Mrs. Dubose. Jem goes into the story thinking his dad is just some old man but as he gets older, he realizes there is more to his dad.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

After hours of waiting, the jury came back in. Scout explains how “A jury never looks at the defendant if it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson… Judge Taylor was polling the jury; ‘ Guilty...Guilty...Guilty’”(211) When Scout and Jem hear the verdict, they are distraught. As they were walking home, “It was Jem’s turn to cry.. ‘It’s not right, Atticus’”(212)

Read More
927 Words | 4 Pages

Lee uses the metaphors presented by Mrs.Dubose’s character to enact a loss of innocence. Mrs. Dubose was “vicious” (115) toward the Finch children every time they walked by her house. She would constantly blame them for performing misdeeds while “stationed on her porch”(116). During the time before the trail of Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose gives her opinion on Atticus Finch saying “You're no better than the [n-----] and trash he works for!” (117)

Read More
1511 Words | 7 Pages

While Scout is less knowledgeable of the trial, she sees Jem and how “... his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them,”(282). Jem is watching his father go against the beliefs of the majority of Maycomb, while trying to prove an innocent man free of his accused actions. Jem puts himself in Tom’s situation, fully able to comprehend the importance of the case. He takes the pain Tom Robinson must be experiencing into himself, knowing how this verdict is changing someone’s life forever. Jem’s mature knowledge and awareness makes him a compassionate person, which is what Atticus had always aspired for his son to be.

Read More
1138 Words | 5 Pages

Courage is not strength or skill, it’s simply standing up for what you believe in and what is right. This is the theme that was enrolled after Jem destroys Mrs.Dubose’s camellias and after she died in chapter 11. This passage also reveals Jem’s coming of age moment. After using conflict, symbolism, and point of view, Harper Lee was able to connect the theme with Jems coming of age moment.

Read More
1720 Words | 7 Pages

As verbalized by the diarist Anne Frank herself, “‘Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands’” (Goodreads 1). Coming of age is a process depicted through movies and novels through the Bildungsroman plot line. The protagonist, in this form of a plot line, has to face society and its difficulties. The protagonist inclines to have an emotional loss, which triggers the commencement of the journey itself.

Read More
934 Words | 4 Pages

Even with Atticus’ strong defense Tom is found guilty. The trial resonates deep within Scout, Jem, and Dill. They get to witness the unfairness in race and prejudice. The trial sticks with them as they mature as they continue to fond over Boo

Read More
1034 Words | 5 Pages

At the end of the 18th century, Europe erupted a shocked the world revolution, this is the famous French revolution. This revolution is like a sharp sword, row away every shrouded in continental Europe over heavy feudal "iron curtain”. Although the revolution, which began operating in 1789 finally ended in napoleon proclaimed himself, finally it failed to achieve the goal of the establishment of a democratic republic, but, over the continent of feudal unfolds once was torn by the revolution, it is no longer to fill that hole, European irreversibly to the revolutionary road of again and again. During the French Revolution, there were many thinkers of the time that influenced the progress of the country. Therefore, The following I am going to discuss the

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

The descriptive diction of “death” indirectly characterizes Atticus’ seriousness towards the case. Lee also uses foreshadowing when she states “... One of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it. I hope it’s not in your children’s time” (221). In view of this, Lee refers to the mistreatment of African Americans by the whites.

Read More

More about Theme Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document