"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
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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
Coming of age is a young person’s transition from childhood to adulthood. The coming of age passage that I picked in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is from chapter 23, pg. 292. In chapter 23, Jem is trying to make sense of everything, after the jury found Tom guilty. Jem starts to cry, and can’t believe the injustice of his townsfolk. He barely ate and was taking little interest in normal activities. Atticus starts to notice and ask Jem what's the matter. Jem is mad Tom got convicted on circumstantial evidence even though Atticus defended him well. Aunt Alexander calls Scout’s friend, Walter, trash which upsets her. But Jem is there to help her get through. Jem says there are 4 types of people in Maycomb county. People like
The award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee includes several key components that are exemplary passages of coming-of-age scenes. One of the most significant scenes throughout the whole book is the courtroom scene that describes the trial of Tom Robinson, who has been accused of rape by Mayella Ewell. The outcome of the trial was creating a coming-of-age scene for several characters, including Jem Finch, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, and Dill Harris. In this scene, it is seen that in defense of Tom, Atticus Finch uses ethical, logical, and emotional stances in order to find Tom innocent and continue to fight for justice by being impartial and having no judgement unlike society. Although a strong defense was presented, society still
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee includes many coming of age moments. For example, I chose the part where Scout walks Boo home. Scout is the narrator of the book and Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley accompanies her in this scene. This is a coming of age example because near the end, Scout talks about how she felt she’d already learned what she needed to be an adult. Today I’ll be talking about literary elements in this passage.
In conclusion in to kill a mockingbird scout at first judged people on their appearance but when she puts herself into their shoes she learns what they go through. She learns not to judge people so quick on how they look or how they act. Like dolphus raymond,walter cunningham,mayella ewell,boo radley and mrs.dubose . she judge them too quick she always thought and seen them through a certain way but that changes when she learns what they go through and what happen to them. She starts to understand and put herself into their
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.
“You can’t understand someone until you walk a mile in their shoes” is a saying that will always hold truth to it, even in this day and age. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, where two children are living in a racially segregated town in the 1930’s, this is demonstrated a lot. Through the use of point of view and coming of age, Lee proves that you can never understand how someone is feeling without imagining yourself in their perspective.
The passages i have chose today for my coming of age essay was the court scene and the problems after the court scene because there were multiple parts in those 2 scenes where the kids could have possibly observed some experience for coming of age and i will explain every single detail and every little piece of information to show you how and what they observed to coming of age in the future.
Lee implies that people learn lessons through life experiences that school can ever teach. Throughout this novel, Atticus taught his kids many lessons that was hard for them to hear at times, but it later on helped them in the story. Or it helped them grow up and mature. On page 40 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus was explaining to Scout that Miss.Caroline was new and didn’t know anyone, and she especially didn’t know the Cunningham’s story, Atticus states, “Atticus said… but if Walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes we’d have seen it was an honest mistake on her part” (40). This quote by Atticus is meant to explain to Scout that Miss. Caroline just made an honest human mistake. He tried to get Scout to realize that if he put herself in Miss.Caroline’s shoes then she might better understand the confusion. Obviously you can’t really be in her shoes, but he said it figuratively to show her why it was important to give her another chance, or at least try to be nice and listen. Atticus taught this to Scout at home later on that night. At her school after that she tried to just get by in her class. Lee also shows mainly throughout that the school system doesn’t help when it comes to teaching children life lessons. As shown in the earlier quote Atticus, had told Scout to jump in Walter’s shoes, and walk around in it. This other quote shows how Scout actually takes into consideration of Atticus’ words, and chooses to not bother Jem because she tried to imagine what it had
There is a time in everyone’s life when they reach a certain age where they go through a period where they come of age. To come of age means that a person reaches an age when they discover something they didn’t know before and they learn it when they come across something significant. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses the theme of coming of age with her character Jem Finch. Throughout his coming of age experience Jem encounters the tree, the gun, and the camellias which teach him some important lessons that he will benefit from in the future.
“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” Many people get interpreted and read differently than what they truly are on the inside because we don’t have the mindset to understand their way of looking at life. The fundamental and often universal idea shown throughout To Kill A Mockingbird is coming of age, which is depicted through many incidents that occur. In a world full of standards Jean Louise is the only one noticeable because she doesn’t blend in with the rest of the girls her age. She is very outgoing and adventurous which gives her the name of a tomboy. Just because she seems tough doesn’t make her cold hearted because on the inside she is
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (pg. 119.) Miss Maudie spoke the previous quote with deep thought going into each and every word. She wasn't just trying to teach Scout a lesson, but she wanted there to be a powerful meaning behind it. Miss Maudie's main purpose was to stress that you shouldn't kill something that is doing no harm. Everyday "mockingbirds" are killed, broke down, and mistreated by society.
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (Lee 101) In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man named Tom Robinson is being accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. White man, Atticus Finch, was given Tom Robinson’s case and was determined to fight for Tom’s innocence. Even if fighting for Mr. Robinson meant putting his children Jem and Scout in danger, he would still be teaching them right from wrong.
‘…Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time’” (Lee 98). Scout thinks that her father is feeble before knowing about his shooting abilities, which she decides as being ‘cool’. By making Scout surprised at what her father can do, Lee demonstrates how those that are nearby may have secrets and abilities that are unknown to others. In addition, while outside the county courthouse, Scout runs into a supposedly sinful and drunk man, Dolphus Raymond, who is white, but has married a black woman, and discovers a shocking news, “‘…it’s nothing but Coca-Cola.’…‘You little folks won’t tell on me now, will you? It’d ruin my reputation if you did’” (Lee 200). When Scout is invited to investigate Dolphus Raymond, she finds out that he is not as he portrays himself to be; instead, he weaves a story for others while he does as he wants, living with his African-American wife and children of both races. This view on the racial structure astonishes Scout, as she has not met someone as outspoken and moral as Dolphus Raymond. Through listening to him, Scout matures as she learns how what is displayed on the surface is never the real
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudice. As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults.
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.