“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” (Judge Taylor, To Kill a Mockingbird). This quote explains how the main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird see the world, Jem and Scout view the world as a fair and innocent place because those are the things they notice. Through the course of this book, Jem and Scout change their innocent views of the world and the people in Maycomb. The author, Harper Lee creates traumatic events that Jem and Scout go through, which ultimately change their views on the world and helps them grow as people. Through the use of childlike innocence, point of view, and other characters, Harper Lee shows that events in someone’s life, can lead to an early coming of age.
Scout’s innocence is used in To Kill a Mockingbird to show an early coming of age. Harper Lee uses Scout’s innocence since she still does not fully understand the world around her. One example of Scout’s innocence used in order to show early coming of age is from chapter seven which says “We had two weeks of the coldest weather since 1885, Atticus said. Mr. Avery said it was written on the Rosetta stone that when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes, and made war on each other, the seasons would change; Jem and I were burdened with the guilt of contributing to the aberrations of nature.”
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Atticus provided Scout with advice to help her understand people more. When Atticus says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 22) Scout does not ever fully understand what her father means by this until she walks Boo Radley home and stood on his porch, then says she “walked” in his shoes. Harper Lee is able to show early coming of age because Scout finally understands why the people in Maycomb, especially Boo Radley, are the way they