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Theme Of To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age

Decent Essays

There are numerous moments in To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout and Jem learn something fundamental about human culture and in return, something about themselves. Besides race relations and the history of the struggle for equality in the South, the novel is a coming of age text, mostly dealing with Scout's maturation. Lee conveys this theme this by using a variety of literary elements such as symbolism, imagery, tone and motif to express the overall theme. Using these elements, Lee demonstrates character development physically, mentally, and emotionally allowing her to express the increase of maturity displayed from each character. The reader gets an immediate impression of this maturation (Coming of Age) due to Scout being the narrator throughout the story. So even when the subject shifts to topics like equality and justice, the reader still is able to understand what is being mediated through the mind of a young girl who is also in the process of learning what these concepts mean and how society either employs or fails. Throughout this essay I will be specifically discussing the coming of age developed by Scout, giving examples from different scenes, and explaining how she has matured over time. First of all, early in the novel, Scout feels left …show more content…

When the children discuss the ‘sin’ with Miss Maudie, she tells them, “You’re father’s right...Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This lesson played a role in coming of age as the children now understand that they must consider the circumstances and act toward an individual as he/she would want to be

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