To Kill A Mockingbird Learning Over Time Essay

Anne Frank once said “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it is a bildungsroman novel that follows Jem Finch as he grows up in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Over the course of several summers he, along with his sister Scout , face obstacles and challenges which consist of their mean old neighbor Ms.Dubose and the recluse Boo Radley. Although, in the beginning of the novel, Jem still is a child physically and mentally, and we witness him mature and grow up. We see Jem deal with problems that arise in a more mature manner. Lee shows that even someone as childish as Jem can grow up and learn to

Eileen Kennedy-Moore once said, “the path of self discovery is a journey of discovery that is clear only in retrospect, and it’s rarely a straight line.” This quote can define Jeremy Atticus Finch’s experience throughout his time in Maycomb county in To Kill a Mockingbird as a child. I’m the story, Jem and his sister Scout are forced to grow up rather quickly as their father defends a colored man, Tom Robinson, of rape in which the town highly disagrees on. The town does not keep this feeling hidden. As the trial occurs it is clear that Tom is innocent and should be released. The opposite of this happens and Tom is concluded as guilty. Which leads to two highly upset children. Jeremy, who is referred to as Jem, begins as the average

As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray

Scout realized that if they took it to court that Arthur Radley killed Bob Ewell, then the whole town would be focused on Arthur and how he’s still alive. They would be putting his privacy at risk and no one wanted that to change for him: “Scout,” he said. “Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?” “Yes sir, I understand,” I reassured him. “Mr. Tate was right.” Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me.”What do you mean?” “Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”(Lee 370). Scout finally understood everything that she had been taught. She knew that taking this to court would hurt Mr. Arthur because he never did anything but help the children. He did not want to go in front of the entire town and give a testimony. She used a great metaphor to show what she has experienced has taught her well. In (Source B), Sebastien wasn’t focused on the fame of his singing career. He was focused on his brother’s health. Like when it said, “He hoped his singing career would help his younger brother get surgery for his hearing problem.” When people grow up, they know they can affect the lives of others and they have to make smart, well thought out decisions. Sebastien wasn’t focused on the people making fun of him or getting mad at him. He was focused on his brother and getting enough money for the surgery. He’s grown up and he’s able to make responsible decisions for the

When many people are children, their parents, grandparents, or anyone who poses as a parental figure tell them that they will become more mature with age. However, psychological maturity is mainly learned rather than simply accompanying a person’s ascent into adulthood. Inevitably people grow, but this statement proves the experiences a person has in their life, whether good or bad, will change the path he or she takes while growing up or even continuing his or her adult life. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jean-Louise “Scout” and Jem Finch are six and ten in the beginning of the book, respectively. Although they gain only three years by the end of the novel, the children develop even more mature mindsets than many of the physically grown-up people in the town. Three events that prompt this early maturation are a conversation that takes place between Atticus and Scout, Tom Robinson’s death, and the ordeal with Mrs. Dubose.

Atticus decides to take on a highly controversial case in Maycomb, where Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old white female, accuses Tom Robinson, a black man in his thirties, of rapeing her. During the trial, Mayella, Bob, and the sheriff state that Robinson hit her on the right side of her face; however, Atticus contradicts the Ewell’s story by showing the jury that Tom Robinson only has one useful hand. Jem then whispers, ‘We’ve got him’” (Lee 202). Although, Maycomb’s society would never allow for Tom Robinson to win the trail, Jem’s innocent perspective enables him to believe that race does not come before the facts. Shortly after the trial, Jem says, “‘Doesn’t make it right. You can’t just convict a man on evidence like that-—you can’t’” (Lee 252). Jem displays an understanding of the racism and divisions in society within Maycomb in this quote. He knows that the conviction of Tom Robinson is bias and that the treatment of all blacks is unfair. Jem shows moral growth in this quote and has a more mature mindset about equality than most of the folks in Maycomb.

Children sit in school for eight hours a day for at least twelve years in their lives, learning how to read and multiply. However, children learn the most important lessons in life outside of the classroom walls. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem discover powerful lessons about life through their father, Atticus, community and experiences. They view an unjust trial of a black man against a white woman, and find that the world is cruel and that they must treat all people with respect. They judged and bothered their neighbor Boo Radley, but he later saves the two of them. Through this, Scout understands not to make assumptions about people until she gets to know them. Also, through Scout’s experiences in school, she finds that

As seen in this quote readers are able to see how discrimination pushes mindsets to choose herd mentality or individuality. Here readers can see that Jem understands the wrong and that he chooses to believe in his own thoughts and ideas about it. Though he is at a loss what to do about it. Another quote that shows he sees the wrong in the town's ways is when he is talking with Miss Maudie. “Who?’ Jem’s voice rose. ‘Who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who?” (Lee 246). This shows how he feels about the trial and the prejudice that arises in the trial.

Imagine a world where evil and unjust actions are based on the color of skin; a world where some don’t even realize that they are prejudicing. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, these themes are present. People and how they commit evil, hypocritical, and unjust acts. We see these themes and great issues through the point of view of a child; the vigorous, youthful, elementary-aged Scout. Through this character Harper Lee shows the innocence of children, and what they go through in our inequitable world.

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the main characters Scout and Jem, embark upon a three year journey of moral development in which they gain wisdom and understanding, allowing them to mature. In the book, they are taught by their father, Atticus, to be good, moral people. Atticus does this because he does not want his children to be instilled with the racist beliefs of Maycomb. Scout and Jem deal with the townspeople’s backlash against their father, who defends an african-american, Tom Robinson, in court, and they confront Mr. Arthur ”Boo” Radley, who they believe to be a monster. Even though Scout and Jem experience many of the same pivotal moments, the ways they deal with, cope, and understand their maturation differs greatly.

After Scout fights with Cecil Jacobs at her school for calling Atticus a ‘nigger-lover’, she is told by her father to “ just hold your head high and keep those fists down.” (Lee, 76) Atticus is expressing that one should not let others get to them and stand up for themselves. She takes up the courage to do so the next time she is yelled at by the boy, although with much difficulty. Through this account, Scout’s willingness to learn and grow is portrayed. Also, Scout is able to stand by her morals when she confronts the mob with Jem and Dill. She demonstrates this by kicking the man who harmed Jem and eventually repressing the mob to leave the county jail, in order to protect her brother and Atticus. The ultimate fear Scout conquers was her unease of ‘Boo’ or Arthur Radley. In the beginning, she identifies Arthur as a mysterious and frightening person who lives on the other side of the street. After Arthur saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell’s attack, she realizes that Arthur wasn’t so frightening anymore and learns to embrace her fear. She does so by walking Arthur home and when she stands on his porch for the second time, not with fear, but with understanding. Scout was able to progress as an individual, stand up for her beliefs, and embrace her fears throughout the

Growing up happens during the magical times of freedom given to children in their early years. Wise parents discern when freedom is necessary for their children, are very clear about their expectations, and determine fitting consequences for actions out of line. Harper Lee personifies this role of a wise and caring parent in the father figure of her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a character made to mirror the author’s own father, is a lawyer and a well-respected citizen of his Southern Alabama town. Through Atticus, Harper Lee establishes a standard of good and evil, developing the theme of morality during his interactions. Atticus establishes right from wrong in most every relationship, especially with his children, his

Lastly, Atticus emphasizes how vital inner peace and making the moral decision in a given situation is to maturation. For instance, in a conversation with his children, Atticus comments, “Before I can live with other folks I got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by a majority rule is a man’s conscience.” (Lee 105) By emphasizing the importance of having personal integrity and doing the ethical thing in any circumstance, Atticus provides his children with wisdom that will carry them through life. Therefore, through unremittingly reiterating the importance of moral decisions, proving the need for pacifism and establishing the importance of multiple perspectives, Atticus verifies himself as a major contributor in Jem and Scout’s development into adolescence.

Mr. Tate and Atticus realize that Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem (Lee, 370). Everyone in Maycomb believes Boo Radley is a crazy person who stabbed his father, and went to prison for it. Scout learns first hand that Boo is not crazy or dangerous, only a man who prefers to be alone. When Scout and Jem go to church with Calpurnia, they observe that blacks are the same as whites (Lee, 158-167). Scout did not believe blacks where as terrible as the whites of Maycomb think they are. She picks up that whites wrongly judge people solely because of their skin tone. "'She's dead, son' said Atticus. 'She's not suffering any more. She was sick for a long time. Son didn't you know what her fits where?' Jem shook his head. 'Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict'"(Lee, 147). Scout believed Mrs. Dubose is a grumpy old lady who hates everyone. She feels a great deal of remorse when she finds out Mrs. Dubose is a recovering drug addict. Scout grasps the concept to not believe in rumors, because they paint the wrong image of people.

One’s childhood innocence is never lost, it simply plants the seed for the flower of maturity to bloom. It seems that almost every adult chooses to either forget or ignore this childhood vulnerability. But ironically, it was this quality that pushed them into adulthood in the first place. At the peak of their childhood, their post climactic innocence allows room for the foundation of maturity to begin to grow. In the sleepy southern town of Maycomb this is exactly what happens to eight years old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. In To Kill a Mockingbird the character Scout is forced to surround herself with a very adult situation, when a trial comes to the small town of Maycomb. The trial raises the question that shakes the entire town up, what