Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote in his novel, White Nights, “But how could you live and have no story to tell?” Atticus Finch is a perfect example of this quote. The realistic fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird, crafted by none other than Harper Lee, contains multiple coming-of-age events. These events affect the two main characters, Scout and Jem, and the lessons they learn within the novel. Especially when their father, Atticus Finch, shoots a rabid dog to save the town of Maycomb, Alabama. This coming-of-age event evolves Scout and Jem's characters with its setting, conflict, and characters. For starters, the kids were playing outside in their neighborhood when they saw the dog. Scout recalls, “She followed us beyond the Radley place and looked where Jem pointed” (Lee 106). What Scout recalls …show more content…
The trees were still, the mockingbirds were silent, the carpenters at Miss Maudie's house had vanished” (Lee 108). This quote also shows what type of setting Scout and Jem are in by noting how the neighborhood was that of a ghost town compared to its usual livelihood. Lastly, the setting contributes to the coming-of-age concept of this scene by showing how the two kids had never seen their neighborhood in the state it was in. Scout reports that “Calpurnia” message had been received by the neighborhood. Every wood door within our range of vision is closed tight. We saw no trace of Tim Johnson” (Lee 107). This was an urgent situation for Maycomb, and presumably the kids realized that the situation wasn't one to play around with. Hypothetically speaking, if someone saw a berserk hound slowly trek down their neighborhood, how would they feel? Obviously, they'd be fearful of being hindered by the dog, but people like Scout and Jem sought to cast the fear aside to be problem solvers and tell their housekeeper, Calpurnia. Scout recollects, “‘There's somethin' wrong with an old dog down yonder.’ Calpurnia