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. The use of Jem’s character later leads him to recognize They saw Mrs.Dubose more as Tom Robinson’s case outbreaks into court. Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus is defending, so every work day Atticus walks past Mrs.Dubose house. Which is “two doors up the street… with steep front steps and a dog trot-hall.” It was not until Jem needed to read to her, when him and Scout got to go inside of her house. “An oppressive odor met us when we crossed the threshold… In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the brass bed was Mrs.Dubose… There was a marble-topped washstand by her bed.” In her house, Jem begins to leave his safety at home and face society's disapproval, which is symbolically represented as Mrs.Dubose. She represents the racism of the Old South, and Jem had to face his problems as he begins to come of age as a mature man. This passage of the story displays coming of age as an internal force through Jem’s character, conflict, and setting. This event led Jem to see situations in a different perspective. He learns that people might come out as rude. But, as hard as it is he must remain respectful, because he would not know what kind of battles they must be facing. He uses this coming of age experience as a life lesson more throughout the
...heme of maturation in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is conveyed through the characters of Scout and Jem, in conjunction with the assistance of their virtuous father Atticus Finch. Early in the novel, Atticus ascertains himself as a major facilitator in the maturation process of Scout and Jem by incessantly providing mature solutions to his children’s predicaments. Moreover, Scout, a major benefactor of the Boo Radley incident and Atticus’ wisdom, has helped her develop into a very tolerant and mature individual. Undeniably, Jem’s remarkable development into a broadminded and compassionate character can be directly attributed to Atticus’ kindness and Jem’s exposure to the Tom Robinson trial. In synopsis, it is evident that the individuals and social circumstances that surround an individual play a major role in defining the type of individual one will become.
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,
In the beginning of the story, Jem enjoys the childish games of fantasizing about Boo Radley, taking any dare, and . Scout tells the reader that Jem becomes more and more moody as the story progresses, due to his aging. He thinks more; he shows more compassion; and he is appalled by the unfairness that rears its ugly head in his hometown. While Scout recounts the events of her childhood, the reader fails to notice that “To Kill a Mockingbird” is not a story about the narrator (Scout) maturing, it is actually about Jem maturing, and becoming an adult.
In addition to being a lawyer, Atticus enjoys being a father to Jem and Scout. When Jem and Scout found out that their father would be defending a black person, they knew immediately that there would be much controversy, humiliation from the people of Maycomb and great difficulty keeping Tom alive for the trial. It was not long when Atticus had to leave the house very late to go to jail, where Tom was kept because many white people wanted to kill him. Worrying about their father, Jem and Scout sneak out of the house to find him. A self-appointed lynch mob has gathered on the jail to take justice into their own hands. Scout decides to talk to Walter Cunningham, one of the members of the mob. She talks about how her father Atticus thought that "entailments are bad "(154 ) " and that his boy Walter is a real nice boy and tell him I said hey"(154). Upon hearing this, the mob realized that Atticus cannot be all bad if he has such a nice daughter as Scout. Atticus, with some unexpected help from his children, faces down the mob and cause them to break up the potential lynching of the man behind bars. Having gone to a black church earlier, the children found out that Tom is actually a kind person, church-going and a good husband and father to his children.
On several occasions, Scout gets into a fight with people who make unpleasant comments about her father. Atticus continuously tells her that this is wrong and that she needs to learn to control her anger, “You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). The day after this discussion with Atticus, Scout is approached by a fellow student who had previously made a mean comment about her father. “I drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped my fists and walked away...it was the first time I ever walked away from a fight” (Lee 102). Although she struggles at first, Scout develops a higher level of maturity which allows her to control her temper and simply defend her father with her words, without being rude. Jem is also faced with these type of situations and struggles with his anger, for instance when he attacks Mrs. Dubose’s flowers. Atticus goes to great lengths to teach his children that in life, they must learn to stay calm and be kind to everyone, despite how cruel those people may be. Scout and Jem face several situations in which their control is tested, which leads them to “come of age”
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 ...
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
As people start to look into the real truths of life, meaning how everything works, such as responsibilities, taking care of yourself, and lastly one’s interaction between and with people everyday of our lives. One starts to realize that the main thing people do is judge others by their race instead of actually getting to see who that person really is by focusing on the inside appearance with their personality instead of the outside appearance. In this passage of To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the literary elements of characterization, setting, and diction develop the theme that coming-of-age involves recognizing the different perspectives that are shown at the end of Atticus’ speech for the Tom Robinson trial.
Over all, the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee have grown and matured throughout the whole novel. Boo’s maturity development is shown when he faces his fear of being with the outside world, Aunt Alexandra having some difficulties facing prejudice but, becoming more accepting of others, and Scout developing and learning lessons that she could apply to her everyday life. It shows that no matter whom the person is or what their troubles are, they all grow and mature in their own unique ways.
Jem Finch demonstrates growing maturity throughout the novel. After Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout reveals Jem’s feelings. “It was Jem’s turn to cry.” Scout uncovers, “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd,” (TKAM 284). Jem understands the trial is not fair because of race. He is mature enough to realize this while Scout is not. Another example of Jem’s maturity is exemplified when he is fulfilling his obligation to read to Mrs. Dubose. Scout describes, “ ‘So you brought that dirty little sister of yours did you?’ was her greeting… ‘My sister ain’t dirty and I ain’t scared of you’, although I noticed his knees shaking,” (TKAM 141). Rather than Jem replying to Mrs. Dubose with an insult, he dismisses her comment. Furthermore, this showcases his patience and tolerance, which comes with maturity. Finally, Jem validates his maturity when the Finch children find Dill under Scout’s bed. “You oughta let your mother know where you are.” announced Jem, “You oughta let her know you are here…”(TKAM 187). At this point Jem knows the right way to handle this situation is to let an adult know where Dill is. Even though Scout believes she can keep him under her bed forever, Jem recognizes the reality. When Jem’s maturity is put to the test he demonstrates good judgment and decision-making.
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.
The theme of coming-of-age is expressed in many platforms in both “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “September” and one of the most prominent ways it does so, is directly through the main characters. Lee’s characters Scout
Mrs. Dubose is overtly racist, representing the ‘bad’ part of the town. In chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose repeatedly insults Jem and Scout because their father, Atticus Finch, is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of rape. The theme is revealed in chapter 11.
In To Kill a Mockingbird there are characters who go through new perspectives like Jem.The main character has a big brother that coming-to-age in chapter 12.He experiences change both from the outside and the inside. The change also affects his relationship with Scout, “It’s time you started bein‘ a girl and acting right!”,(Lee 153).Here shows how Jem is coming-of-age
In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about growing up and taking other people into consideration. Scout Finch is the main example of this. She starts the novel as a naive, ill mannered, tomboy. By the last page, Scout has transformed into an understanding, empathetic, polite, young lady. There is not a specific age where a girl turns into a woman or where a boy turns into a man. Maturity is reached through experiences and how they are handled.