The Theme Of Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

In the novel written by Harper Lee titled To Kill a Mockingbird, it is a story that revolves around two children named Jem and Scout and their experiences in a prejudiced town as they grow up and mature into young adults. They learn lessons regarding what the real world has to offer during a time of segregation. As they discover new ideas, they also manage to learn more about themselves. Lee utilizes imagery, direct characterization, and dialogue to express the recurring theme of coming of age, also known as Bildungsroman.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses multiple literary elements to develop the theme of “coming of age”. The setting of the story is in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s when racism and prejudice was common pre- Civil Rights movement. Throughout the novel, the theme becomes increasingly evident as we follow Scout through the early years of her childhood and witness her becoming more informed about her community. As the author is conveying the theme to the audience, it is noticeable that multiple literary elements strike out as more obvious than others. For instance, symbolism, the subplot, and dynamic characters are quite evident.

Since the first spark of human life, coming-of-age has even occurred at the time of Adam and Eve. Many people think that the only part of maturing is puberty. However, one of the greatest parts of growing up is not, surprisingly, going through puberty. Coming-of-age involves recognizing different perspectives.

As people get older they go through experiences in their life that can change them in bad ways or most of the time change them in good ways.This good change occurs usually by the experiences teaching them important lessons they should know in life.These changes are very important in ones life because it matures them into an adult. This transformation happens to certain characters in every novel and it is called coming of age. In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, both Jem and Scout go through this coming of age and learn what it means to be courageous, the unfairness of the world, and to look at other people's perspective before judging them.

Harper Lee, in the realistic-fiction novel To Kill A Mockingbird, uses a variety of literary elements to aid in the overall development of the theme. All of the characters are going through some sort of coming of age experience or enhancing someone else's experience as well as their lives all the while being greatly impacted by the racial discrimination and injustices that occurred all around them. An event in the novel that expresses this is the court case of Tom Robinson, or more specifically, Atticus’s, Tom Robinson’s attorney, closing argument. During this Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of raping a white girl in their town of Maycomb, and Atticus decides to defend him as his attorney despite the town's clear racial biases and preconceived stereotypes on people of color; this greatly impacts Atticus’s daughter, Scout. To show this Harper Lee uses setting, plot and conflict to enhance the development of the novel and put forth the theme. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses these literary elements, plot, conflict and setting to develop the idea that the presence of racial inequality leading to the undermining of justice impacts the coming of age for Scout on a variety of levels.

“Those who improve with age embrace the power of personal growth and personal achievement and begin to replace youth with wisdom, innocence with understanding, and lack of purpose with self-actualization.” -Bo Bennett

To Kill a Mockingbird has two major genres that it can be shelved under; Bildungsroman and Southern Gothic. A bildungsroman, otherwise known as a ‘coming of age story’, usually focuses on one character as they ‘come of age’ and ‘grow up’ in either a mental or physical sense. To Kill a Mockingbird has more than one character experience a ‘coming of age’, but the character who ‘grew up’ the most was Scout. Over the course of the novel, she learned a multitude of lessons that helped shape and carry out the ending.

Coming of age is an influential part of many people’s lives. They begin to leave behind their innocent childhood views and develop a more realistic view on the world around them as they step forward into adulthood. (Need to add transition) Many authors have a coming of age theme in their books; specifically, Harper Lee portrays a coming of age theme in his book To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the journeys of their childhoods, Jem and Scout lose their innocence while experiencing their coming of age moment, making them realize how unfair Maycomb really is.

“Maturity is not measured by age. It’s an attitude built by experience.” This quotation says of how you don’t mature by aging and growing older but maturing by understanding situations and events you are found in and how you deal with those challenges or problems. The definition of maturity is to “have attained a final or desired state.” This means that although some don’t mature ever in life it is of something every human being must do to properly work in an occupation or operation appropriately. The prestigious author Harper Lee writes the story of racism, prejudice and violence in a small Alabama town known as Maycomb. The town of Maycomb- although fake in reality- is derived from the southern

Leading the reader to the realisation that maturity is one theme the author wants to express, is the presentation of maturity in various shapes and forms. The way Scout describes Jem as “[someone who] had acquired a set of values” (Lee 153) implies the evolution which Jem was subjected to. As it is deductible by Jem’s reaction to the news of Mrs Dubose’s death, how “[he] buried his face in Atticus’s shirt” (Lee 148) and cried, the event impacted Jem enormously, which consequently is the reason of his sudden growth. Additionally, it is possible to see Jem maturing by him breaking “the remaining code of [Scout, Dill and Jem’s] childhood” (Lee 187) and telling Atticus about Dill running from his house. Also how he separates himself from Dill and

Have you ever wondered how you got to where you are now and what the changing points in your life were? Well, in To Kill a Mockingbird, we see how Scout grows up and what her changing points were. We also see how Jem matures through Scout’s eyes. Through the duration of this novel, these kids go through something most kids never have to deal with. As the Great Depression is happening, the trial of Tom Robinson, and having been attacked by Bob Ewell, Scout and Jem have to mature and act more adult like to get through these points in their lives.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout battle growing up around racism in a small town in Alabama. Their father, Atticus, repeatedly tries to teach them lessons about life. This novel utilizes a number of themes connected with the topics stereotypes, courage, and empathy.

In Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows the children that Maycomb is prejudice, teaches them courage, and the children show maturity. Scout and Jem are children of Atticus who's assigned to defend Tom Robinson is his case and throughout this case Scout’s summer neighbor and friend, Dill, Jem, Atticus, and Scout exuberate of these themes in their actions .Prejudice is when one pre-judges another based on their race, gender, age, or sexuality which one don’t understand and one hates the unknown of another. Courage is doing something without the fear of being judged or fearing the unknown. Maturity is learning lessons and applying them to oneself where one start to display adult characteristics. These

To kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Themes are the subject of a talk, a piece of writing or a person's thoughts. There are many themes present in this great American classic such as courage, racism, prejudice, morality and of course coming of age. Lee communicates these themes with characters, events that unfold and the scenarios that Jem and Scout have to face.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in 1903. This novel is basically a coming of age story for a young girl named Scout and her older brother named Jem. Who grows up in a time where racism is normal. They soon learn to stand up for what is right, just like their dad, Atticus.