Coming of Age
In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, both Jem and Scout are forced to grow up by what they experience. They do not ask to grow up; it is forced upon them. Harper Lee uses different elements and literary techniques that are inserted into different themes of the story that are also in the chapters of the story.
In Chapter 3, after Scout is reprimanded on her first day at school for knowing how to read, and for her attempts to assist Miss Caroline by explaining who Walter Cunningham is and that she has shamed him. Atticus tells his daughter, "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." In this section of the story it is saying that scout is having a trouble-some time with having to argue with the teacher about walking into another man’s shoe in which Atticus explained to scout. In my opinion, I too have thought that seeing another man’s perspective would mean
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In chapter 6, after Jem gets his pants caught on the Radley fence and must climb out of them in order to escape when Nathan Radley steps out with his shotgun, he later sneaks off the back porch where he and Scout sleep. He wants to retrieve his pants so that he will not be caught in his deception. As he returns to the porch, Scout imagines what is happening as Lee employs personification: "...Boo Radley's insane fingers picking the wire to pieces; the Chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive." In this part of the story Harper Lee uses personification to convey the theme of the story which also shows that Scout and Jem have disobeyed their father’s orders of not going to the Radley’s place. As in my opinion, I deeply thought that this was related to the coming-of-age because Jem and Scout still have a lot to learn, remember, and the truant of them not
In this essay i will be going over the concept of maturing and how the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” dives into the concept. Throughout the story there are many pieces of evidence that supports how characters in the story have matured. A piece of evidence that backs this up is “When we were small, Jem and I confined our activities to the southern neighborhood, but when I was well into the second grade at school and tormenting Boo Radley became passé, the business section of Maycomb drew us frequently up the street past the real property of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose.” (Lee 114) This quote shows that once upon a time “tormenting” Boo Radley was something fun to do and fill Scout and Jem’s time.
Coming of age is a process that many people learn from, as they grow older. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” gives many examples of how coming of age can change one person completely. Especially when a young boy leaves his home in Meridian to go to Maycomb. Lee uses the character Dill, to introduce a subplot, to show an external conflict, and to create imagery about running away; allowing him to come of age.
There are many books that have been written by fantastic authors, that have touched many people deeply. Harper Lee has done just that. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the livesfe of people during the 1930’s. The novel displays some of the most recognized issues of its time. Atticus, Jem, Scout, and the whole Maycomb community are affected by what a black man did not do.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is an example of a character whose coming-of-age process involves gaining a different perspective. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout says “The fact that I had a permanent fiancé...unbearable” (Lee 17). When Scout meets Dill, she realizes that she likes him, so she is coming-of-age by seeing her feminine side. Scout changes her perspective by saying “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (Lee 241).
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-``. Atticus shows scouts that you don't understand what everyone is going through and you need to walk in their shoes to understand them. ''Atticus said I had learned many things today”. It is showing how Atticus gave Scout a new
Maturing in a Divided Society Life lessons in coming of age experiences are important as they shape an individual’s beliefs, values, and character, and prepare them for challenges of adulthood. In Harper Lee’s Novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem learn many life lessons as they come of age through their experiences and interactions with people around them. They do so in Macomb County, a small town in Alabama, that is burdened by social and racial prejudices. Scout and Jem are forced to learn the harsh realities of the world and how to address it through various life lessons. Scout and Jem learn the crucial life lessons of empathy and understanding, the reality of injustice and prejudice in society, and the notion that people are not
What is coming of age? Coming of age is a process in which an individual goes through a certain event and gains new insights that allow them to mature. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, they are many events where coming of age is revealed in the main characters. The coming of age is revealed through the author’s choice of various literary elements. One place where coming of age is shown is when Atticus tells Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, Aunt Alexandra and Scout that Tom Robinson had died, while Aunt Alexandra was having her missionary society’s meeting.
Harper Lee paints a clear picture of what Scout’s street looks like from Boo Radley’s porch, “I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle” (pg.373). This expresses that the way Scout sees the world is evolving, with this evolution Scout learns that viewing the world through the eyes of someone else can lead to one better understanding the world for themselves. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.”
In the novel, the front porch of the Radley house demonstrates and serves as a symbol of division between the Finch and the Radley’s. In the beginning of the novel, Scout is too frightened to even go near the Radley house. Scout states, “I ran by the Radley Place as fast as I could, not stopping until I reached the safety of our front porch” (Lee 18). This shows how terrified Scout is of Boo, as many view his house with fear and mystery. Then, later in the novel, Scout walks Boo home and even goes to his porch.
Ziad K. Abdelnour said, “Maturity comes with experience, not age.” This quote really hits home with how Harper Lee develops Scouts character. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed the theme coming-of-age through one of the main characters, Scout. During the time of the novel, segregation and the Great Depression were going on simultaneously. As the days go by in the novel, Scout matures because of what she sees in her everyday life.
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.
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.
Jem and Scout learn many valuable life lessons throughout the novel and although they “grow up” at a much faster rate than other children in Maycomb, they will become people that have lots of wisdom and have been exposed to the real world. The experiences that the children have throughout their childhood help them solve problems, think wisely, and shape their
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scouts changing perspective of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley represents a coming of age moment because it demonstrates a breaking away from the childlike imagination that had previously explained all of their questions and superstitions about the Radley’s. A coming-of-age moment is the transition of thinking that occurs when someone learns empathy. At the start of the novel, in many situations, Scout and Jem demonstrate childish behavior and thinking when Jem is taunted into touching the side of the Radley home by Scout and Dill. The book reads, “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us” (18). From this portion of the novel we can tell that Jem and Scout clearly regarded the Radley home and its occupants with novelty and even fear.
Coming of age can be internal and or external; plus it really shapes a character or person into being a new version of themselves. Now coming of age relates to “To Kill a Mockingbird”