To Kill A Mockingbird Time Analysis

No matter who you are you will be affected by the concept that is time. The life of which is lead can be seen with each crease that is bestowed upon the face. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the novel is heavily impacted by time. Jem, Boo Radley, and Scout, all mature over the course of the story, but each in their own way. All three of these characters see the world through the eyes of an adolescent. The transition from seeing society like a child to an adult. The struggle, between childhood bliss and the reality of adulthood, is one that people can spend their entire lives dealing with. The world becomes a more somber place as one ages. The activities that might have been of interest before become less fascinating. The people who
(Pg. 284) As a man it is often thought that they do not cry, but that is not the truth. Jem, who was severely passionate about the court case, expressed emotion and showed how much he understood and cared about the trial. As the novel progresses Jem shows that he begins to stop caring solely about himself, like a child might, but is aware of other people and how he affects them as well as others. Jem is still not fully seen as man, but is no longer a child, the way he is perceived will continue to change and grow as he does. Boo Radley, unlike the children, already according to age, is an adult. He is thirty three when the book begins and has not lived a life outside of his childhood home. He is confined to his house by his father as a teenager, and as a result of being inside for so long, begins to go mad. Scout explains a rumor that everyone in the town has heard, she says,
“According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.” (Pg.
Rumors like this, of him eating animals and harming his relatives spread like wildfire. In a sense the way that Boo acted resembled that of a child. He did not know how to act with others, and was not able to develop social skills beyond the age of which he was keep inside. Boo was seen by the people as someone to fear, someone that was not relatable, and no one could possibly understand. The children realized that the life outside of the house was not the most welcoming and receiving of places. Jem says, “Scout I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.” (Pg. 304) The image that the Finch children had of Boo shifted in the slightest. He became a little bit more relatable as the children considered why Boo stayed inside for so long. The way that the children view Boo continues to change even more than him becoming a little more human; he eventually is looked at like their guardian angel. Boo had been watching over the children for years. They were not only a source of entertainment through his window, but in a sense his only companions. He cared for them. He had a connection with them, even if the children did not have the same mutual feeling. Scout, at the end of the book, reminisces about Boo and his importance in their life. Scout says, “Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him.”