To Kill a Mockingbird Formal Writing Assignment Throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird, I focused on the character Scout as she developed and matured in the town of Maycomb County. I believe Scout has grown during the events of the book in the following ways: Scout learned how Maycomb society worked through the people in her life, like Atticus and Aunt Alexandria. When Aunt Alexandria visited the Finch household, she introduced Scout to high society, which Scout did not enjoy. Nevertheless, Alexandria attempted to get Scout into wearing dresses and gossiping about town life. This attempt may have failed, but it showed Scout exactly how a lot of ugly gossip and ideas in general traveled around. The complexities of Maycomb’s societal life …show more content…
In the beginning of the book, Jem was friendly to Scout, and he was her sole playmate growing up. But as time went on, Jem would often ignore Scout and leave her for other boys, because she was a girl. He even spent more time with Dill, who was decidedly younger than both Jem and Scout. He would regularly scold Scout for being pathetic and girl-like, which was funny because she was just using her common sense, though she used that to rain on Jem and Dill’s parade whenever they wanted to do something like sneak into the Radley house. “I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’(37)” Jem also began to display a different way of thinking, which confused Scout on many occasions. “Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody. His appetite was appalling, and he told me so many times to stop pestering him I consulted Atticus.(114)” This is an excellent example of how Jem’s sudden changes in behavior worried Scout. Jem was Scout’s big brother, the person who grew up with her all her life, and now he was acting strange and aloof. This would understandably upset Scout, especially because she wasn’t old enough to understand what was happening to Jem. You can see this when Scout says things like, “ Reckon he’s got a tapeworm?(114)”, and “He ain’t that old,” I said. “All he needs is somebody to beat him up, and I ain’t big
One of the ways Jem changes is by becoming more mature.Jem proves that he is maturing when the kids find Dill under Scout's bed and the first thing Jem says is “let your mother know where you are" and tells Atticus that he was there.This shows that Jem is starting to think like an adult and didn't care about breaking “the remaining code of childhood”. Even though it would mean Scout and Dill getting mad at him he still did it because he knew it was the mature thing to do.This shows that Jem cares more about doing the right, mature thing and less about having Scout and Dill mad at him.
Scout is the main character in this book, everything happens from her point of view. But, what happens with her, how does she change and develop? Throughout the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout develops by becoming less aggressive, more independent, and more able to see things from other people's points of view.
The next most obvious person in the book that drastically matures is Jem. At the beginning of the book Jem is much like Scout in that he has the innocence of a young child. For example Jem tells Scout and Dill various made-up stories about Boo Radley to satisfy his need for excitement in his life and for the childish need to scare Scout and Dill. His immaturity is also mirrored when he makes up a game in which he puts Boo’s “… life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood.” After that he shows his lack of being able to control his temper and lack of respect when he destroys Miss Dubose’s camellias. There is no doubt that Jem was immature at the start of this book but as the book progresses we see a drastic change in him.
Jem’s maturity throughout the novel affects his behavior by causing him to react more negatively towards any type of disturbance. This affects Scout and
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.
When Scout was forced to wear a dress because Aunt Alexandra wanted her to be more ladylike, she “...felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on [her], and for the second time in [her] life [she] thought of running away. Immediately” (Lee 182). Scout was a tomboy since she lived with her father and brother; dresses and girly things annoyed her. Her inner self was contained in the dress, and she wanted out. When Aunt Alexandra was hosting a church fundraising tea, Miss Maudie asked Scout where her britches were. Scout responded by saying, ‘‘Under my dress’” (Lee 307). By wearing her overalls under her dress, she appears ladylike since everyone wants her to, but is still the tomboy she always wants to be. Scout has matured to realize what’s best for her and the people around her. She realized the social normalities of Maycomb and knew what others thought of her. Without this internal conflict, Scout would have disregarded other people’s opinions and just do what was right in her mind. Scout’s internal conflicts transformed her to be her own person while taking others’ opinions into
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch represents a young southern tomboy who strives to find her identity. The adults in her town of Maycomb...
Scout was the narrator of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" (by Harper Lee). At first she didn't know a lot about Maycomb (the town they live in), the people in the town and life. Through the book she had lots of new experiences and learned a lot. This knowledge caused significant changes in her characteristics and perspective. As the novel progressed, she has grown up. She has become a better person.
To Kill a Mockingbird "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." – Miss Maudie The quote above states that Atticus Finch was a man who did unpleasant things, but this quote is false. Miss Maudie had every good intention when she told Jem and Scout this and her point was taken in the way she intended it to be taken by the children. Her point could have been better worded if the portion that reads "our unpleasant jobs" were replaced with "what is right." Atticus did unpleasant things only because he knew that they were the right thing to do. Miss Maudie told the children about their father in this way only to avoid saying that the rest of the town was wrong.
Jem had changed throughout the story from acting like a child and doing things that children do to becoming more mature and taking part in the community. When Dill had ran away from his mom and stepdad during the summer Jem and Scout had found him under the bed in Scout’s room. Scout was planning to hide him in her room: however, Jem had other plans. “Dill’s eyes flickered at Jem and Jem looked at the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. “Atticus, can you come here a minute, sir?” (pg. 74) For years, Jem and Dill had been the best of friends. Dill had found Jem trustworthy, however, Jem was willing to do what was right even if it means losing a friends trust. Towards the end of the summer, when Dill was getting ready to leave Jem felt that it was necessary that Dill should learn to swim. He has spent the next week going to the creek to teach him. "Jem had discovered with angry amazement that nobody had ever bothered to teach Dill how to swim, a skill Jem considered necessary as walking. They had spent two afternoons at the creek, they said they were going in ...
In the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" each of the main characters changed quite a bit. Through the experiences each character went through and the natural maturing that occurred in each of them, the characters were altered from the way they were at beginning of the book. The children, Scout and Jem, were the two most dramatically changed characters. However, Scout showed much more change than Jem did because of his mysterious hidden attitude. Scout matured from a helpless and naïve child into a much more experienced and grown-up young lady.
When Scout begins to somewhat understand why the trial is taking place, and more importantly Atticus is involved in it, it shifts her view on the subject. She had previously idolized Atticus’ ideals and would have, both figuratively and literally, gone to war for Atticus; however, when she finds out that he, more or less, had to take the case she does, probably the most teenage thing in the entirety of the book, not idolize him instead she blames him. This transition shows just how much she grew up just in the year leading up to the
Everyone has most likely picked up a book and read the first few pages then put it down because it’s not interesting enough plenty of times. Harper Lee wrote a fantastic book that replicated part of her childhood that got to people on their insides. The famous novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is still such a powerful novel because of many reasons such as that you should stand up for what you believe in, all men are NOT created equal, and
Scout is the narrator of the whole book. She is the young daughter of a lawyer, Atticus. They live in Maycomb County with Scout's brother and Aunt in the 1930's. At the beginning of the book, she doesn’t know much about the prejudice of Southern America. She basically knows nothing about prejudice. She thinks every person is the same as her. But she finds that out at last. She also finally finds out that most people are nice. She just has to put herself in those people's situations. "As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly algebra" (Lee pg. #). This statement shows that she understands the prejudice and people's thinking, at last. That makes her life a lot different.
During the course of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem experiences an obvious transformation, through particular moments that have effect on the young man he is shaped into. Jem’s growth in the novel is apparent in his interactions with Mrs. Dubose and the Tom Robinson trial. He has distinct moments with Atticus that formulates his authentic personality. As a boy he does not yet understand the truth that little Maycomb County holds. It is through his change in age that he formulates vital morals that break the wall that hides the real world.