Influence Of Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Influence for Maturity
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A Man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” In other words, one’s thoughts can be greatly influenced by their environment. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, this idea is clearly present throughout the characters’ maturation. Jem and Scout Finch are living in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Along with their friend Dill, who only visits in the summer, the kids become obsessed with Boo Radley, their mysterious neighbor whom they have never seen leave his house. While this is going on, Jem and Scouts’ father, Atticus Finch, is working as an attorney, to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a nineteen

Dubose. As the kids discuss the trial with their father, Scout begins to question why Atticus insists on helping Tom. Atticus tells them, “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 76). Previously, Jem believed that bravery was never turning down a dare. After listening to his father, however, he begins to understand that bravery is much more than that. Atticus’s influence on Jem starts to transform him into a much wiser and more thoughtful person. Additionally, after Jem is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose, he tries to understand why Atticus respects her so much. Atticus says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 112). Jem finally understands that the true meaning of bravery is to do what is right, even when others disagree. This thought begins to shape Jem’s behavior, in that he starts to act more like Atticus. Being able to understand the meaning of courage allows Jem to act much more mature. As Jem is growing older, his growth in maturity is expanding to not only his family, but to all aspects of his

Jem becomes more mature by discovering the evil in the world when the hole in the Radley tree is filled in and when Tom Robinson is convicted by the jury. Also, his respect for his family is strengthened after his father shoots the mad dog, and when he and Scout are attacked. Finally, through Atticus’s determination to help Tom, and the reading Jem is forced to do for Mrs. Dubose, Jem’s maturity considerably increases when he learns the genuine value of bravery. As Jem’s thoughts change throughout these events, so does the way he views life. His innocence is lifted, and he matures first in respect to his family, and later to other people in his life. He is influenced by his thoughts and he shows his maturity through his actions. Jem’s example shows that the events one experiences in life will shape the kind of person they become. The more one experiences, the more he or she will develop, whether or not it is for the