The illusion of innocence is deeply instilled in the outlook of children. Reality soon takes its grip as kids begin to grow and mature, and they lose their pure qualities that they have once possessed. Their father Atticus shelters Jem and Scout from the town’s disease, teaching them the act of sympathy and how to distinguish the good aspects over glaring at the imperfections of people. The loss of innocence portrayed in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is exposed as the lives of Jem, Scout, and Dill go through their racist and prejudice society, learning how the worlds dreamlike qualities is nothing more than just a childhood fable. The children’s judgment of people and society quickly sheds as Lee displays the harsh realities to Jem, Dill,
A five year old is the epitome of innocence and naiveté. But as time progresses, this fragility is lost and children must learn gradually cope with the outside world and mature via gaining new experiences that grant them wisdom and knowledge. Three characters, Jem, Scout, and Dill in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee living during the Depression-era in Maycomb County, deal with the harsh reality of Maycomb’s racism and prejudice while maturing through gaining knowledge, experience, and courage. The kids grow up learning many lessons from Atticus or from their own experiences. In her depiction of Jem, Scout, and Dill, Lee reveals their maturation from being the children they are to having a thorough understanding of their society and the people within it.
Growing up in Maycomb In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three main themes: Growing up in Maycomb, Racism, and Courage. In chapter one through ten, it talks about Jem and Scout spending every summer with Dill, it also talks about how Jem grew closer to Dill and started to leave Scout out of their activities. On page six of the novel , Growing up in Maycomb they believe that there was ”Nothing to fear but fear itself’. Maycomb was a town where you could sit on your porch with peace, and everyday door was open on Sunday Maycomb seemed to be hotter back then, people also moved slower then. Scout and Jem seemed to love growing up in Maycomb ( they had their down times) they seemed to have a decent life especially with a father like Atticus . Atticus was a straight forward man who did everything for his family. Atticus was a lawyer for the town ; for the most part loved him. He believes that everyone deserves and a fair chance , somehow he mad growing up in this small town easy for the kids. Calpurnia, the cook, also made growing up easy for the kids. Cal is a Negro woman that came to the house every day to cook and clean for the family .She plays a mother role in the novel. Jem and Scout’s
Does the quote “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view,” (Lee 34) mean anything to you? Does it make you want to mature so you can be able to view different perspectives and understand other people’s thoughts and why they think the way they do? In pages 30-34, Harper Lee uses character, conflict, and foreshadowing to convey the theme of “coming of age”. These pages of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, allow you to ask these questions with the literary devices that she uses. This essay will explain why the literary devices of character, conflict, and foreshadowing, to help convey the theme of “coming of age” through examples used in these pages.
In To Kill a Mockingbird there are many instances of losing one’s innocence because of Scout and Jem. These two young kids don’t really have a care in the world and they think nothing bad will ever happen but these two don’t have a good enough grasp of how the real world really is yet. Since Jem is a couple years older than Scout he understands most things better than she does just because he’s been exposed to the world a little more than Scout has. During the story of To Kill a Mockingbird these two young kids start viewing everything slightly different in their small county called Maycomb such as how they view their father, racism, Boo Radley, and the people in the place they live.
When children grow up, they face difficult problems, and. they learn to cope and take responsibility. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a flashback about two kids that spans over a few years. Jem ages from ten to thirteen over the course of the novel, and undergoes much change, as his sister describes him. Over the years, he is exposed to issues adults face, and eventually shows an understanding of racism and innocence. As Jem grows up, his view on courage also changes. Jem follows his father's footsteps, and gets much of his knowledge from him.
At the start of Part Two, Jem starts to grow to be a more mature person and develop a want for wisdom and knowledge. “In addition to Jem’s newly developed characteristics, he had acquired a maddening air of wisdom.” (116) In this quote, Calpurnia is speaking to Scout letting her know that the reason for Jem’s sudden changes is that he is growing up and is almost a young man. Jem is beginning to mature mentally. Jem wants to become more ...
Jeremy “Jem” Finch is a leading protagonist in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” published in 1960. Jem matured greatly throughout the duration of the book, starting to resemble and idolize his father, achieves the status of a guardian to his sister and introduces a whole new set of ideals in his lifestyle. He embodies the themes of growth. Throughout the novel we see how perceptions of things such as courage, respect, tolerance, and cruelty changes Jem as he matures.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem symbolize coming of age through the onerous events they deal with that require maturity. People, like Jem and Scout, evolve through life experiences that evoke wisdom and composure. Two young children show that when faced with tough events, people mature in order to be able to handle the situation. Scout knows that coming of age is a package deal with other personal qualities that emerge along the way. This story demonstrates that growing up is a necessary and frustrating task. However, people must handle anything that life throws at them with wisdom beyond their years. The aging curse prevents people from staying young and innocent, instead forcing them to enter adulthood and tackle the challenges facing them.
1. Scout and Jem are both entering their early teenager years and are expected to be more mature and work there way into man/womanhood. One piece of evidence that demonstrates Jem is maturing is shown on (Lee 227). ‘If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re
Scout begins to recognize that she and Jem were beginning to think differently; they are both growing and maturing. He is starting to act like a young adult, trying to please Atticus and stay out of trouble. Scout does not yet fully comprehend the fact that he is growing up. The age gap and different experiences lead them ...
The key coming of age scene I am going to analyze is the jailhouse scene where the children run up next to Atticus when a mob of people show up with weapons. This scene uses voice, setting, and imagery to show the coming of age of Jem and Scout when Jem disobeys his father and Scout uses her words instead of her fists.
Jem is growing up all the time. This can be seen when he stops Scout
Jem’s identity changes when Mrs. Dubose finally passes, after reading for her as an apology for ruining her flowers. Atticus explains why he had his son do this, teaching him a lesson that changes him for the rest of the story. “I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a an with a gun in his hand.” (Lee 112) Atticus’ words show how Jem’s identity changed because he learned how to be strong in the real way. Strength is not always physical, but the way one handles things can show their true power. Jem learned from Mrs. Dubose’s death and his father’s wisdom that he needs to be courageous; doing things that he may not always want to and understanding others. Jem starts to really grow up after this moment. With siblings, it is not unusual for things to be shared: toys, food, and experiences. Scout’s identity also goes through change during the events surrounding Tom Robinson’s trial. She loses a great amount of her innocent, exposed to others’ pain and truths. Certain townsfolk are less than kind to Atticus for him defending Tom Robinson, causing their children to lash out at the Finch children as well. “’Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down.’” (Lee 77) After learning what Cecil’s hateful words truly mean, Scout decides to be the bigger person and not pick a fight. She is showing maturity through her restraint, and displaying her respect for her father. Scout’s identity in To Kill a Mockingbird affirms that identity is how you are influenced by the experiences in your life because she would not have been the same character without the events that
Imagine just two young kids maturing within a matter of years. Imagine that same two kids, experiencing or understanding things that they aren’t meant to at a young age. Jem and Scout were just like that. They have experienced many things that they shouldn’t have at their age. Scout on the other hand, seems to be the one maturing the most. Throughout this whole essay, you will learn about Jem and Scout’s attributes, personality, and how alike or different they are from each other.