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Examples Of Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

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When someone thinks of maturity, they often do not contemplate how it begins or the process. They may believe that after eighteen, society expects individuals to act maturely without warning; after eighteen, an individual is a mature, functioning member of society. However, this is not always the case: many eighteen-year-olds today are criticized for being immature while others are too mature for their age. Jem from To Kill a Mockingbird displays this issue perfectly. He is only thirteen, but he already shows maturity at that young age. Although, he was not always like this. Jem was naive and unaware of the harsh reality of the world. Without realizing the dramatic shift in Jem's character, understanding the transition between part one and part two is difficult. His ideal view of the world started to fracture, and he started to grow and mature after Mrs. Dubose's death. Harper Lee’s main theme of the novel is that innocence must be shattered before maturing. …show more content…

Dubose’s camellias. He does not know what he did was childish and immature saying “I cleaned it up for her and said I was sorry, but I ain’t” (Lee 108). This shows that he is aware of his wrong actions, but was not aware of the reason why it was wrong, demonstrating that he is not mature and still has an air of naivety to him. However, all of this changes once Jem learns of Mrs. Dubose’s death. After her death, Scout claims that in addition to Jem’s newly developed characteristics, he had acquired a maddening air of wisdom. During a verbal argument with Scout, he yells at her and argues with her that “It’s time you started bein‘ a girl and acting right!”(Lee 116). This quote shows that Jem has learned from Mrs. Dubose’s philosophy, showing that once his innocence was shattered, he started to develop as an

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