Throughout childhood, one progresses from naivety and innocence to knowledge and awareness. It is a long journey that we as people go on to become adults, and even when we have reached our goal, there is still much more to learn about the world around us. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the path from childhood to adulthood and all of the trials one may encounter along the way. The main character, Scout Finch, begins as a six-year-old girl, whose life is focused around basic six-year-old things. However, as she grows older, she experiences several events that cause obvious development in Scout as a person. Scout has progressed emotionally and morally throughout the course of the novel due to the various adult knowledge she was …show more content…
Life was very slow paced; excitement was rare, so people created their own. Scout and her older brother, Jem, are no different. Their next-door neighbors, the mysterious and reclusive Radleys, supposedly have a son who is called Boo Radley. Boo is depicted as a monster, who only leaves his home at night to watch people while they sleep. Jem and Scout, along with their friend Dill, are determined to discover more about Boo Radley, and their curiosity provokes them to go on various escapades to the Radley Place. “‘Let’s try to make him come out,’ said Dill. ‘I’d like to see what he looks like.’” (16). The children have a fascination pertaining to Boo, and their curiosity with him expresses their naivety and childish manners. Their summer days revolve around Boo and the mysteries that come with him. “Dill and Jem were simply going to peep in the window with the loose shutter to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley…” (69). They even go so far as to invade the Radley’s property. The children do not understand the full extent of how dangerous this is, and how wrong it is for them to attempt to intrude upon Boo Radley’s life. Their understanding of basic morals is very loose, and they often forget to think about the consequences of their actions. The children think in simple ways, and are not yet …show more content…
For Scout, Miss Maudie was one of these people. Miss Maudie was a positive feminine influence in Scout’s life, and she was one of the only other adults that were important in Scout’s life besides Atticus and Calpurnia. Scout often visits Miss Maudie when she has nothing else to do, and enjoys the conversations the two of them have. Miss Maudie is also meant to describe what a real lady is supposed to be, as she does not gossip, and keeps a level head about her in the worst situations. Scout sees Miss Maudie as a role model and thinks very highly of her. “That ain’t right, Miss Maudie. You’re the best lady I know.” (59). When Scout has a question about something, Miss Maudie is one of the first people she goes to. Miss Maudie even provides an explanation of why Boo Radley does not leave his house, which turns out to be right at the end of the novel. Arthur Radley just stays in the house, that’s all,” said Miss Maudie. “Wouldn’t you stay in the house if you didn’t want to come out?” (58). Miss Maudie is a very influential person in Scout’s life, and helps shape her into an adult. is the one to nurture her and teach her the ways of the
The quote by Zora Neale Hurston, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer,” shows that coming of age is a tricky project that takes time and effort. In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, she writes about Scout Finch, the narrator, reflecting on her past and the challenges she went through in her hometown, Maycomb, with her brother Jem and childhood friend Dill.. Harper Lee uses the young characters in the novel to show experiences, their role models, and conflict help shape a person from child to adult.
Scout Finch and her brother Jem live with their widowed father Atticus in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The book takes place in a society withstanding effects of the Great Depression. The two main characters, Scout and Jem, approach life with a childlike view engulfed in innocence. They befriend a young boy named Dill, and they all become intrigued with the spooky house they refer to as “The Radley Place”. The owner, Nathan Radley (referred to as Boo), has lived there for years without ever venturing outside its walls. The children laugh and imagine the reclusive life of Boo Radley, yet their father quickly puts a halt to their shenanigans, as they should not judge the man before they truly know him. Atticus unforgettably tells the children, “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.”
The narrator of the story, Scout Finch, is a curious young girl who is surprisingly mature for her age. When her older brother Jem, and shared friend Dill go to the intriguing Radley house to deliver a note to Boo Radley, whom Macomb County hasn’t seen in 15 years, Scout is
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
Miss Maudie has lnown Atticus Finch, now she has helped to raise Jem and Scout. Miss Maudie has always been there for scout, “I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie Atkinson in her front porch.”(Lee 55) Miss Maudie took time out of her day to spend time with Scout when Jem abandoned her in his games with Dill. Miss Maudie acts like a mother would checking on the child and finding something for them to do. Miss Maudie also acts like a parent when she is asked a question. “Why, one sprig of nut grass can ruin a whole yard. Look here. When it
Everyone goes through different changes as they grow up. Maturing, coming of age, and doing the right thing are important themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This theme is most often seen in the character Jeremy “Jem” Finch. He portrays this theme when he begins to enter puberty and becomes a young man. Jeremy starts to become more independent, wiser and more able to comprehend adult situations; Jem begins to get a better grasp on things. Other characters that demonstrate this theme are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee shows how Scout comes of age in similar ways to Jem. Scout begins to grow up and become more tolerant of others by “putting herself in another person’s skin”. Boo displays his “coming of age” in a somewhat different way than Jem and Scout. There’s a scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where Boo has the chance to do the right thing by putting himself in harm’s way in order to save lives, and he takes the chance. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that is overflowing with the theme “coming of age” (whether it is shown through the main character or others). This theme is important to the story because these characters are a small example of the changes that Maycomb needs to undergo. Jeremy Finch is the character in which this theme is most represented in.
Another very crucial point to the overall story is the mutual fascination between the children and Boo Radley (Arthur Radley). Boo constantly leaves objects (a watch, two soap dolls, a knife…etc) in the hollow of a tree on his property. Just as Boo does this, the children are constantly devising plans to look in the windows of the Radley house, to sneak into the back yard…etc. This was largely important to the story because it built upon the viewer’s opinion of the children, leading us to believe them having large capacity for imagination from their stories on Boo eating only squirrels and any cats he can get his hands on, and having them believe the stories as well! And all of these instances, the children’s stories, the fact that Boo never comes out of his house in sight of others, the stories of others concerning the Radley’s, the gifts in the tree hollow, lead us to believe Boo to be some sort of...
In this, she is similar to Atticus, as he spends his life defending people, also mainly the under-privileged. They are also like-minded as to their tolerance of the children, which is a stark contrast to Aunt Alexandra, as she is always nagging Scout to become more of a lady and doesn’t accept her as she is. Miss Maudie is very unlike Miss Caroline, Scout’s school teacher as Miss Caroline whipped Scout to try and control her, whereas Miss Maudie helps her through restraint and friendship. Another person who is totally unlike Miss Maudie is Mrs Merriweather. At the missionary meeting, she patronizes Scout by speaking to her as if she was only a baby and deliberating lying to her. As she is also a childless woman, her behaviour highlights how understanding Miss Maudie is, as she has a
The Radley house, just down the street from Scout’s, was the beginning of Scout’s curiosity and imagination. The stories she was told and the little things she didn’t see fed her curiosity during the whole story. The Radley’s are like the bent over birch trees for Frost. The curiosity of “some boy’s swinging trees” eats the man alive in the story and makes him think back to his own childhood. Scout’s curiosity ends with her in awkward situations. Like the time Atticus caught the three children; Scout, Jem, and Dill at the courthouse during Tom Robinson’s hearing. “ “Curiosity always kills the
The Radley’s are a misunderstood family, who live in a creepy house blocked away from society, affected by many “urban legends.” They keep to themselves, away from anyone who could intrude in their lives. They are not ones that you would see often, only Mr. Nathan Radley, who just runs his errands in the mornings. The Radley’s are so mysterious because no one knows who they truly are, so everyone just makes up who they want the Radley’s to be. Arthur Radley, who is most commonly known as Boo Radley, has many stories. People believe that he stabbed his father, Nathan, with a pair of scissors, bit off his mother's finger one night when he couldn't find any cats or squirrels to eat, oh and yes, they also believe he eats cats and squirrels. Without ever seeing Boo, people don’t even know if he is alive or not, giving them more of a chance to spread rumors. Like any other six, seven and ten year old child, Scout, Dill and Jem are fascinated with trying to uncover the mystery of The Radley’s. They are obsessed with The Radleyś, from making up games about their lives, to
As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults. Boo Radley’s maturity is depicted in the novel when he overcomes his fear and interacts with Scout, Jem and Dill. Boo, who is notorious for being a recluse, is a shy, lonely man who rarely leaves his house and does not understand the world around him. However, when he finally comes to interact with the children, he matures both mentally and socially. One example of when Boo matured physically was when Boo rescued Jem from Mr. Ewell.
Among many things, Miss Maudie teaches Scout that she should not judge people based solely on rumors she might hear about them. Scout, being only six years old at the time of the story, believes everything that reaches her hears and takes most things literally. Rumors she hears about a man named Boo Radley, who many consider the town freak because of his different lifestyle and because nobody ever sees him, create in her the belief that he is a crazy maniac. The activities she takes part in with her older brother Jem and their friend Dill only fuel her theories about Boo. When Jem and Dill begin shunning Scout aside, she spends her time with Miss Maudie instead, and they develop a kind of friendship. Miss Maudie, a Baptist who loves nature, has high morals, and treats everyone as equals, aids in Scout discontinuing her belief about Boo Radley’s state of mind. At one point, they have a conversation regarding Boo. They discuss the rumors Scout has heard thus far about him, and Miss Maudie shoots down her beliefs. When Scout asks Mi...
Boo Radley, also known as Arthur Radley, is the scary, evil creature that lives in the creepy old house down the street from Jem and Scout, and is misjudged at first. Jem and Scout, two main characters, first see Boo as some sort of scary monster. Jem described him in the first chapter as “...six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks...” and said “...he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained- if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off...” Jem also mentioned Boo had a “...long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Scout and Jem also call Boo a “...malevolent phantom...” As if that isn't bad enough, the kids hear and tell horrible stories about Boo. One is of how he stabbed his dad with a pair of scissors; another tells how he was locked up in the courthouse basement. Even with such a grisly initial perception at the beginning of...
No matter where or who a person is, they are always learning something, either about themselves or about the environment around them. In Harper Lee's heartwarming novel titled To Kill A Mockingbird, the main characters Jem and Scout grow and mature throughout the story as they learn both more about themselves and the world around them. As the story progresses, they learn many life lessons including those about prejudice, people and how they have been categorized and judged, and, last but not least, gender issues.
As the novel progresses, the children’s perspective towards Boo Radley matures and this replicates the development of the children. Boo Radley was once an intelligent child, only to be ruined by his cruel father, one of the most important mockingbirds as his innocence was destroyed. Luckily for Jem and Scout, Boo was merely a source of childhood superstition, often leaving presents for them.