ipl-logo

Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

570 Words3 Pages

Watching your children grow and mature can create life-lasting memories while they're in the innocence of growing up. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how over time scout grows up and gains maturity, confidence, and courage. Two children Scout and Jem Finch live in a town which is very racist. Their father Atticus Finch is a lawyer and he takes a case with a man named Tom Robinson. He does good in the case but due to racism he loses the case. The good thing though is the jury takes a while to make a verdict. So it is a win for Atticus. But throughout the story we see how the presence of this case affects Scout in a good way as she learns new things and matures as she grows older. Harper Lee uses the topic of growing up throughout …show more content…

“Is Jem awake yet?” “Sleeping peacefully. He won’t be awake until morning.” “Oh. Are you sittin’ up with him?” “Just for an hour or so. Go to bed, Scout. You’ve had a long day.” “Well, I think I’ll stay with you for a while.” (Lee 280). Jem broke his arm and Scout offered to stay up with Atticus. Even though it is late at night Scout tries to stay up with Atticus. Atticus insists that she goes to sleep but she stays up while Atticus reads the book. Eventually, she falls asleep but she still tries her best to stay awake.

Scout becomes more confident in herself. In chapter 9 Scout gets in a fight at school with a boy, she does this because the boy says Atticus defends people of color. This shows that she is confident enough in herself to fight. She doesn't like people talking bad about her dad so she does what's right. Even though it was a boy she would do anything to defend her father.

Scout gains courage throughout the book. An example of when Scout showed courage was on the first day of school. Walter Cunningham Jr. didn’t have lunch money but Miss Caroline said that she could lend him the money and he would have to pay her back the next day. When Miss Caroline held out the cash for Walter he shook his head. This happened three times until someone said “Go on Scout and tell her.” (Lee 19). Scout explained to her that he's a Cunningham and that they don't accept anything they can't pay

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of How Did Scout Lose Her Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    828 Words  | 4 Pages

    She implied strongly that it is due to the fact that Atticus is standing up for a black man. Scout also finally comes to understand that the world is full of racial prejudices, lies, and injustice; and it can lead to the downtrodden being convicted of crimes they did not

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Quotes

    533 Words  | 3 Pages

    All throughout this book Scout shows how strong she is, for her family, for her friends, and for herself. She acts likes its ok sometimes but, she just wants her family to be happy. “ Aunt Alexandra’s fingers trembled as she unwound the crushed fabric and wire from around me. “Are you all right darling?”

    Read More

  • How Does Atticus Change In To Kill A Mockingbird

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Scout Finch, a once disorderly girl, changes a lot when her father, Atticus, takes the responsibility of defending a black man. Scout matures quickly when she is faced with discrimination and hatred towards her father. The atmosphere of discrimination in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee affects Scout, by creating a hostile environment that teaches her important lessons, forcing Scout to protect herself and her father, and learning that challenging the traditional way of life was not always wrong. It must have been a confusing time for Scout Growing up in Maycomb, because once her father took the role as an attorney for a black man, everything started to change.

    Read More

  • How Does Atticus Finch Show Courage

    1304 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout the book, Scout has been a very protective person. Her actions gave an inference that she would do virtually anything in order to preserve peace and keep her family safe from harm. When Scout and Jem went to the county jail while looking for their father, they ran into a predicament. Scout, who was too young, did not understand what was happening at the moment but Jem did.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Scout Character Traits

    556 Words  | 3 Pages

    A place in the book where Scout displayed courage, was when she stood up for what is right, when Walter Cunningham was over at their house, and he was not using his manners. Being courageous is very important because in this time period, a lot of people would try to bring others down whether it is personal opinion, or discrimination against race.

    Read More

  • Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was a part in the book when Atticus stood outside Tom Robinson’s jail cell knowing people were going to come to try and kill him. When they did come Dill, Jem and Scout stepped in trying to protect Atticus. That action alone showed courage also on page 205 when Scout recognized one of them as one of the Cunningham’s and started talking to him. “Do you remember me, Mr.Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1302 Words  | 6 Pages

    Caroline when she innocently attempts to explain Walter Cunningham’s situation. During Scout’s first day of school, Miss Caroline offers to pay for Walter's lunch. Scout informs her about the Cunningham's poverty and says that Walter will not accept anything he cannot repay back. Scout perceives her actions as a mere attempt to enlighten Miss Caroline; however, she unconsciously judges Walter Cunningham based on Maycomb's social structure. This holds significance for Scout as it highlights her naive understanding and an exaggerated sense of children’s know it all attitude.

    Read More

  • How Is Atticus Finch A Good Role Model

    587 Words  | 3 Pages

    A parent's role in their child’s life can affect their morals and values as they grow up. In Harpers Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a single father who is trying his best to be a good parent and role model to his children, Scout and Jem Finch. By teaching them that racism is not okay and that everyone should be treated with respect no matter their age, race, or beliefs. Atticus, a lawyer, was given a trial where he has to defend a black man against a rape charge against a white woman.

    Read More

  • Development And Growth In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    3432 Words  | 14 Pages

    In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses experiences and language to convey the theme of growing up for the better and worse throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, it is shown that experiences significantly impact people's actions. “Literary analysts tend to praise Lee's depiction of the relationship of mortality to law and justice, but criticism usually overlooks the novel's view of the coming of age years of a tender girl, eight-year-old Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch” (Snodgrass). While inequality and racism are presiding themes within To Kill a Mockingbird, growing up is a topic that is impactful too.

    Read More

  • Breaking Social Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird

    766 Words  | 4 Pages

    In spite of Scout’s inability to fully comprehend the significance of what Atticus is doing for Tom, she readies herself to defend Atticus, which ultimately portrays that she does not regard society’s expectations on how she should

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1045 Words  | 5 Pages

    After hours of waiting, the jury came back in. Scout explains how “A jury never looks at the defendant if it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson… Judge Taylor was polling the jury; ‘ Guilty...Guilty...Guilty’”(211) When Scout and Jem hear the verdict, they are distraught. As they were walking home, “It was Jem’s turn to cry.. ‘It’s not right, Atticus’”(212)

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Quotes

    419 Words  | 2 Pages

    Additionally, from other people’s perspective, Atticus has lost, his innocence because of him defending a Negro. However, it is not true because Atticus is a lawyer and he is doing his job without criticizing him. This incident made Scout ask Atticus that if it is right to defend a Negro. By this, Scout is able to gain the ability to look from new perspectives on how the world works in very early age compared to her brother, Jem and other children. Secondly, Jem is not completely disillusion until a guilty verdict is returned to Tom Robinson at the end of his trial.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Moana Quotes

    1273 Words  | 6 Pages

    So Scout knocks him right in the jaw. Scout says,

    Read More

  • How Does Atticus Show Courage

    726 Words  | 3 Pages

    This valuable lesson helped Atticus later in the story because she stood up to a lynch mob to protect Jem and Tom Robinson from being hurt. If Scout didn’t know what real courage was, she may not have stood up for Tom and he could have been killed right there by the mob. This was a very valuable lesson that helped shape Scout into the courageous young girl she was later in the

    Read More

  • Calpurnia Quotes Courage

    487 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout is very passionate about who she is, and what she believes in. Throughout the timeline of the book, she doesn’t let anything or anyone change that. For example, she believes Arthur is a good man, although Bob Ewell tries to tell her differently. Scout says, “If you shouldn’t be defendin’

    Read More

More about Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Open Document