The Importance Of Transformation From Childhood To Adulthood

The transition from childhood to adulthood is an occurrence that everyone experiences in life. As children are placed in more complex situations that require them to think with new perspectives, they learn lessons, and lose some of their innocence. Overtime, the experiences amalgamate and complete the transformation to adulthood, and the process by which the transition happens is depicted in To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Although it is set in the late 1930’s, similarly to adolescents today, the characters are constantly adapting to new situations and becoming more mature. Children like Jem and Scout Finch grow from single-minded youngsters, to seasoned individuals that think with perspective, like their father. Through court-cases,

He picked up the camellia, and when I went off to bed I saw him fingering the wide petals….” (149).
Jem lose of innocence was reflected in his recognition that he hadn’t known of the awful struggle Mrs. Dubose faced with drug addiction. Jem had learned a powerful lesson that grown ups have their own flaws. He did not like that she had insulted his father, yet he realized he should have been kinder to her. His compassion for someone who had been sick but had also insulted his father was another way Jem transitioned from the simplicity of childhood to the complexity of adulthood.
As Jem transitions into adulthood, he also learns to care less about what people think of him, and to do what he believes is right. After Atticus takes the family car downtown late at night, Jem and Scout are suspicious of their father’s activities. He never drove the car for short distances, only for business trips and other long drives. They follow him downtown to his office, along with their friend Dill, but find him sitting at the venerable Maycomb county jail. When a group of the town’s prejudice white males drives up in a line of cars, Atticus pleads with Jem to take the rest of the children home. Atticus doesn’t want Jem, Scout, and Dill to get caught in the altercation that is about to occur. Jem however, refuses to leave his father at the mercy of the men, some of whom he recognized like Mr. Ewell and Mr. Cunningham. One again Atticus pleads with Jem, but Jem still refuses to return