Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Maturity comes with experience, not age.” As said by Ziad K. Abdelnour, meaning as you age you do not simply mature but with the experiences you witness and overcome help one to understand a deeper meaning or realization. To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, is a novel touching on the racial injustice and coming-of-age of protagonist Scout and her brother Jem in Southern Alabama in the 1930s. The book had won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into a film which was awarded many titles and put into the Producers Guild of America Hall of Fame in 1999. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. His two children, Scout and Jem and their friend Dill face situations children their age should not have to, racial

Tate’s decision to say his cause of death was that he fell on a knife. Early in the novel, Scout had a brief interest in why it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout and Jem received air-rifles for christmas and before using them, Atticus said they could shoot tin cans or even blue jays if they could but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird:

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Mrs. Maudie about it.

“Your father's right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people's gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” (Lee

Maudie, but she had lost interest and changed the topic quickly. Not making any connections or diving deeper into the topic she began a new conversation. Later in the novel, Bob Ewell ambushed Jem and Scout as they were walking home from the high school and Jems elbow ended up broken and Bob was found dead. Boo Radley had come to rescue the children from Bob and killed him in the process. Heck Tate decided to say Bob fell on his knife and killed himself to save Boo Radley from public exposure:

“Scout,” he said, “Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?” Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran up to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might.

“Yes sir, I understand,” I reassured him “Mr. Tate was right.”

Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“Well it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (Lee 370)

The mockingbird in this quotation is Boo Radley, he had good intentions to help the children from Bob’s attack. Scout realizes this and compares Boo to a mockingbird, he hasn’t done anything to anyone but saved Jem Scout and Mayella from Bob’s physical harm. She made a connection and showed her understanding of what mockingbirds are, harmless and helpful people. The maturity is shown through Scout's understanding and connection that people can be mockingbirds