When people mature, there is often a specific event that causes them to come out of childhood and into adulthood. Although many small moments contribute to the maturation of a child, there is usually an important event in which the child needs to grow up to comprehend. An example of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which is a bildungsroman, where the children begin to mature as adolescents. In the novel, there were specific points of growing up for both of the Finch children. For Jem Finch, the pivotal moment in his maturation and new understanding of the world’s unfairness is his reaction after he receives the verdict of Tom Robinson’s trial. When Jem cries at Tom Robinson’s trial, he is exemplifying that he is understanding what is going on in the adult world around him. Jem was compelled to cry because he understood that the jury’s verdict was unfair and that they determined Tom guilty because he was black. As he cries he mutters to himself “it’ ain’t right,” as …show more content…
The loss of innocence is not only reoccurring throughout the book, but it is recurring throughout life. Through adolescence, our innocent selves fade away and our eyes are opened to the true world around us, whether we like it or not. Like Jem, there is often a key event that speeds up that maturation process, and practically throws you over the hurdle towards adulthood. People all around the world experience these critical moments, when parents are diagnosed with cancer, a family member or friend passes away, having to live in poverty, and many other situations. For most it happens in childhood, but for some of us, that key moment won’t come until we are much older. Whatever the moment may be, it happens to everyone, and that is when we are hurdled over that wall that was blinding us from discovering a deeper comprehension of the