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To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

Decent Essays

"A coming of age experience can happen any time during one’s life, most often when it is least expected. It does not discriminate. It is the thread that sews humanity together, a phenomenon, which is undeniable. Convention tells us, it is a defining moment in a child’s life, when the world somehow becomes his or her own" (Heslov, pg. 1). Harper Lee did an excellent job of representing how Scout grew to comprehend the world around her in To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel could be considered a “coming of age” story because Scout learned how to understand people’s perspectives and their personal obstacles.

There are multiple occasions when Scout had to look beyond what was presented to her and put herself in another’s shoes to fully comprehend …show more content…

Scout learned not to judge a book by its cover after she heard of Mrs. Dubose’s secret struggle with morphine addiction. While Atticus was explaining Mrs. Dubose’s death to Jem and Scout Atticus exclaimed that, “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict” (Lee, 1960, pg. 147). As Atticus made her realize Mrs. Dubose’s bravery and courage to overcome her addiction, Scout was able to grasp that not everything was as black and white as it seemed. Scout learned how to look past what she saw on the outside and tried to grow a deeper understanding of the situation. Scout developed a deeper comprehension of how the racism of the town is a huge obstacle that citizens deal with every day when Mr. Raymond revealed the reason for faking his drunkenness. Outside of the courthouse during the trial, Dill and Scout talked to Mr. Raymond, “secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (Lee, 1960, pg. 268). As a result of this conversation with Mr. Raymond, Scout was able to distinguish that Mr. Raymond struggled with being judged and realized how truly racist the town was. Scout found a the pattern of the townspeople treating the African Americans and the people associated with them as less than humans. This leads her to become more

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