To Kill A Mockingbird Passages

Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming of how you appear to someone else? In this passage from chapter 31 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the literary elements of motif, diction, and setting develops the theme that changing perspectives or “walking in someone else’s shoes” brings understanding as it did for Scout as she thought of Boo Radley’s point of view. This passage comes as the aftermath of a fatal situation. Harper Lee uses the mindset of a young girl, Scout, standing on her strange neighbor’s porch to demonstrate this “coming of age” lesson. The author establishes “coming of age” to be the learning and maturing as one progresses through life no matter his or her age. Lee’s characters evolve over the course of the novel,

“It was summertime, and two children scampered down the sidewalk toward a man approaching in the distance,” (373). This quote takes place at the beginning of Scout’s flashback. The children of her flashback, though the reader is aware that Scout is one of the children, remain nameless. Lee does this to alert her audience that Boo Radley’s eyes are viewing this scene, not the protagonist. The diction choices progress into detail throughout the scene, allowing for strong examples of imagery with familiar scenes. “Autumn again, and Boo’s children need him,” (374). For the duration of the passage, Scout defines the children as “his.” By the end, “his” children have become “Boo’s” children. Lee intended the reader to capture Boo’s mindset through her chosen diction. He had become their neighbor, their friend. They had become young people exposed to the truths of their world. “As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn’t much else left for us to learn, except possibly algebra,” (374). Scout felt she had learned and aged from this perspective awareness. Similarly, Harper Lee uses this quote to draw the reader’s attention to the lessons of wisdom embedded in the novel. The author keeps the diction genuine to character by suggesting the foreign notion of algebra. Harper Lee skillfully creates concepts using literary elements to transport the reader to the speaker’s