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Maturity in Innocence 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. Lee uses Scout and Jem’s tumultuous childhood experiences to... has had many trials through her life, and on was in fact a trail of Tom Robinson, a black man accused in raping Mayella Ewell, one of the daughters of Bob Ewell, the town’s idler. Atticus, the children’s father, was defending Tom Robinson, and the case seemed to be in favor of him, all the way to the point of Jem stating, “He’s not leaning, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it..Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-”(Lee 176). Jem is very confident in his father’s argument, and believes that the case will lean to Tom, …show more content…
Jem has become victim of this through Mrs. Dubose, the Finch’s neighbor, through a period of time. After destroying her flowers and her rocking chair from his anger over what she said about his father, Jem is sent to read to her as an apology made by Atticus. While doing this, she passes away, and Jem is confused. He asks why Atticus can still call her a lady, in which Atticus retorts with “...Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her view, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.”(Lee 93). What he means is that not everyone is all good or all bad, which Jem had yet to
Each and every person will go through a coming of age experience sometime in their life. Those experiences can come in different forms. But, each coming of age experience ends up shaping us to become a mature adult. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a coming of age story through Scout Finch, an aging girl’s point of view. Her brother, Jem Finch who experiences coming of age before Scout, realizes that being an adult was not what he hoped. Jem recognizes a different perspective of bravery from Mrs.Dubose, a vile, elderly woman’s perspective. In chapter 11, Harper Lee uses literary elements such as character, conflict, and setting to establish Jem’s new outlook on life.
Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to act courageously by modelling that type of behaviour. By defending Tom Robinson Atticus puts himself in the middle of the conflict. Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch are both despised by most of the town given that Tom is believed to have raped Mayella Ewell and Atticus is hated for defending his client. “The boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till the truth’s told. And you know what the truth is.”(Lee,152). This shows that Atticus is devoted to truth and justice, and that he will do all he...
Having grown up in the home of a lawyer, Jem understands the ways of the courtroom and recognizes Atticus’ behavior in court. When Tom Robinson is put on trial for being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Atticus is appointed his attorney. As questioning continues, Atticus blatantly proves it was impossible for Tom to even commit the crime. Jem says to Reverend Sykes, "...don't fret, we've won it....Don't see how any jury could convict on what we heard" (Lee 279). Jem’s response to Reverend Sykes comment
Tom Robinson is a virtuous and warm-hearted African American who works very hard to raise his own wife and kids everyday. He is reported that he hurts a white woman and takes advantage on her.Atticus was appointed by the court to defend Tom.Because of that, a lot of kids laugh at Scout and Jem so Jem and Scout do not really understand Atticus about why he wants to do this. As they are confused about their father’s choice, Atticus told Scout that this case is the one that he had to argue with, not because of the appointment, instead, he wanted to preserve the justice and truth. As the case going on, Jem and Scout are very excited and they all supply their father. When the judge finished and Scout lost the case, and Jem feels really upset too. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.” (243 Lee)As a kid, Jem not only thinks about his own thing, he also cares about Atticus’ case, he feels down when Atticus fail, this is the most obvious evidence of Jem’s growth and his admiration on
First, the trial of Tom Robinson is an eye-opening experience for Jem and Scout; there they discover hatred, child abuse, and lying. Seeing pure hate is new and strange for Jem and Scout. They know that prejudice does exist, but listening to and watching Bob Ewell during the trial is astounding to them because Bob Ewell abhors all blacks, especially Tom Robinson. Bob’s daughter, Mayella, makes an advance on Tom, which is absolutely unspeakable and shameful at that time. In addition, Bob Ewell’s hate grows (especially for Atticus) because after the trial his reputation and respect is ruined, even though he does not have a high degree of integrity to begin with. Also, through the
Not long after, Scout and Jem knowledge that their father, Atticus will defend a black man, Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping and violence attack on a white woman, Mayella Ewell in a trial. Despite disagreement and mocking of Maycomb’s citizens, Atticus stands on his decision to defend Tom Robinson. While Atticus role as the lawyer for Tom, the children face the impact. As a tomboy, Scout has been fighting with other kids a lot and led ...
Growing up is a difficult task. This is true especially Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Using many examples of the loss of childhood innocence, Lee shows us that a corrupted society leads to growing up faster and one’s childhood being stripped away. Through Jem, the eldest of the Finch children, and Scout, the youngest, the readers see how a trial in 1930s Alabama takes a toll on young minds. Jem and Scout grow up more than expected when their summer consists of nothing but a racist trial. In Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she implies that growing up leads to loss of innocence, especially in troubling times.
Coming of age involves a time of successes and triumphs in a young adolescents life. Often, there are obstacles that need to be overcome to enter adulthood. This journey often shapes who they are becoming. In addition, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is about a story from the perspective of a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, known as Scout. Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who tries to prove the innocence of a black man who is accused of rape. The book also involves a mysterious neighbour named “Boo” Radley who is known to be a recluse but yet, he saves Scout and Jem from getting killed. Throughout the story, Scout learns many teachings from her elders. An individual who does not mature and develop more each day, could result
In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” Scout is an example of a character whose coming-of-age process involves gaining new views on life. Scout always remembers when her father, Atticus, told her to “consider things from his point of view” (Lee 39). Scout learns that before she judges anyone or makes a big decision she needs to put herself in their situation. Scout learns to actually look through many different perspectives. In chapter 12 Scout realizes Maycomb is not such a great town after all. The people seem nice until their racism and prejudice shows through. Scout is always discovering ways to grow up and not end up like the adults in her town. Scout is becoming a very responsible and independent young woman.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a young girl named Scout is shown to overcome her age and mature throughout the scenarios of the story; two important ones being Scout’s awareness for Boo Radley and the Tom Robinson trial . In addition, I have greatly changed this year by realizing how precious and stunning life is through volunteering at a hospital and seeing more unfortunate people.
For example, Scout hated Miss Dubose for telling her that her father was “no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (102). Even when Scout tried to be sunnily as possible by saying “hey Mrs. Dubose”, she would receive “don’t you say hey to me, you ugly girl! You say good afternoon, Mrs. Dubose”(99) which made Scout naturally avoid her. Scout concluded her as a wicked lady that always likes to insult others for no reason. On the week she died, Atticus explains to her that she suffered from morphine and told her how much of a great lady she was. He said she “died beholden to nothing and nobody” and was the “bravest person [he] ever knew” (112). Atticus teaches his kids about courage defining it by “when you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (112). After Scout figures why Mrs. Dubose was always insane, she feels in awe and is encouraged by her bravery. Scout judged Mrs. Dubose just by seeing what was there instead of understanding the cause of her insolence. Scout is already raised as a respectful young lady, but she realizes that she was not thinking deeply enough when judging
“Don’t be afraid to change you may lose something good but you may gain something better,” this quote directly fits with the astonishing novel, To Kill A Mockingbird which contains many themes and messages for readers to take from. The real question to be asked is, does the movie have the same impact? This book is told through a flashback, by Jean Louise Finch also known as Scout who tells the story of her childhood in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Scout and her brother Jem have heard frightful stories about a misunderstood man named Boo Radley. This book allows readers to see what life was like back then and what the children had to go through growing up. This book shows the theme of innocence and how it can
Scout is given the liberty to grow and develop into her own person, sheltered from harsh racial judgements or xenophobia. She is free to make her own conclusions about the way life works, and as a result her youthful innocence is preserved. She has a strong sense of morals, and understands the importance of empathy. Scout’s innocence is exhibited during her conversation with Mr. Dolphus Raymond. As the husband of a negro woman, Mr Raymond pretends to be a drunkard to escape the torment that society would otherwise bring upon him. Scout does not understand why he would do this to himself: “that ain’t honest, Mr. Raymond, making yourself out badder’n you are already” (Lee 268). To Scout, there is no shame in falling in love: she is too pure to see how the colour of someone’s skin can affect their treatment in life. Atticus has raised her to be innocent and fair to everyone, and she does not yet fully understand that not everyone was raised the way she was. Like Scout, Jem is also unbiased, though less innocent. He understands the high degree of racial profiling within Maycomb County, but also understands how wrong it is. Jem especially struggles with the prevalence of racism throughout the town after the Robinson trial. His last few strands of innocence snap during the trial, as he is exposed to the harsh truth of reality: only the privileged are innocent
Scout’s growth was shown by the author when the young narrator of the novel tries to understand what the Tom Robinson trial is about, even though she is only a child. The author exhibits Scout’s innocence when Scout asks Atticus about the case and Scout says, “What is rape? I asked… without consent” (Lee 135). The quote conveyed the message of how innocent Scout is but the case of Tom Robinson exposes Scout to reality and learn about what rape is, which shows Scout’s growth as a character. Afterward, in the trial Atticus proves to the town that Tom Robinson, who is a black man is innocent and was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell however, the jury decided that Tom Robinson was guilty. Through the trial of Tom Robinson, the author states the prejudices that exists in the world and especially in the town of Maycomb. The protagonist’s experience of the trial of Tom Robinson makes her understand the discrimination that exist in the world. Tom Robinson’s death in the novel established further growth of Scout. In chapter twenty-five, the author gives the news of Tom Robinson's death to the town of Maycomb and that causes great depression in the town especially among the black community because Tom was innocent. Scout finally sees that the world is a cruel place and begins to grow stronger as an individual. To conclude, the author expresses Scout’s growth to the readers through the trial of Tom Robinson and Tom’s
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...