“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a perfect example of how the plot progression of the story was closely related to the character development. Lee used Jean Louise, also known as “Scout” as a main model of character development, as she grows through her understandings of racism, how to handle social situations and her intelligence . The plot progression throughout the novel was very close in relationship of bildungsroman in the characters personal stories. This book being fiction is not true but it depicts how life was during the time period of the 1930’s. The characters also are very close to portraying common people of the time in Macon County of Alabama.…
The book To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about racism, prejudice, and most important of them all, a coming of age for the main character(s). The novel tells about a young girl, Scout, and her family, who struggle through a rough time when her father is assigned to be a lawyer for a black man, even though back in the time the story takes place, it was basically hopeless for them to win. During the story, both Scout and her older brother, Jem, have a coming-of-age experience. However, for this essay, I’ll focus on only one; Jem’s.…
Scout is five at the beginning of the book and does not really understand the world as it is at her age. In the end, Scout has truly learned what she needs to know at her age and more. Atticus has clearly noticed, for he says in the novel: "'This is their home, sister,' said Atticus"(Lee 131). In this quote Atticus is talking to his sister, Alexandra, about the trial and why he let the kids stay. When the trial is taking place, this is truly the first time Scout is really exposed to the real world. Atticus felt like this is the world Jem and Scout are growing up in and he felt the need to show them now before it is too late.…
Growing up is what people have had to do through their lifetime. The maturity of people can be based on various experiences they have had. Part of growing up is learning that childhood beliefs are not necessarily true. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the maturity of different characters are shown especially with the children. Scout, the protagonist, is a prime example of showing that childhood beliefs are altered and maturing through experiences she has had. She feels Atticus is not exciting and she is ashamed of him, but later on realizes that Atticus does a lot of good, and…
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee showed the hardships of growing up in the 30's. The characters Jem and Scout are thrown in the middle of difficult times when their father, Atticus, chooses to represent a black man. From this choice of their father, Jem and Scout come to understand that the world isn't fair and they learn how to deal with it. Through the interactions of the childhood world and the adult world, Jem and Scout's personalities and learning change. Jem starts to feel the effects of Atticus's choice to represent a black man when he has an encounter with an old lady, Mrs. Dubose. When Mrs. Dubose was rude to Jem, he got angry and ruined her flowers. Jm was young and didn't understand the effects of his actions. Atticus told Jem that he needs to just hold his head high "and be a gentleman"(133). Jem was just a boy and wasn't used tp dealing with cruelness, especially coming from an adult. His father made it clear…
To Kill A Mockingbird, authored by Harper Lee, is an American novel of growth and maturation because it focuses on the character development of Scout as she comes to understand the world. This classic novel is set in a racially charged southern town during the Great Depression. The main character and narrator, a young girl named Scout, develops and changes from the conversations and actions that happen in the book. Scout’s direct maturation and learning of life lessons develops by witnessing the hypocrisy of her hometown Maycomb, Alabama, and her father, Atticus, being a major influence in her development.…
As people grow in life, they mature and change. In the novel , To Kill a Mockingbird ,by Harper Lee, Scout, the main character, matures as the book continues. Slowly but surely, Scout learns to control her explosive temper, to refrain from fistfights, and to respect Calpurnia, their maid, and to really learn her value to the family. Scout simply changes because she matures, and she also changes because Atticus, her father, asks her to.…
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Harper Lee). Harper Lee wrote the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a top selling novel that brought the nation and the world to a realization. This novel hit the stores in 1960, selling millions of copies and becoming an award winning film. She lives in a small town down in the southern part of the United States, where racism is at its highest. Harper Lee is a ninety-four year old woman whose goal in writing the novel was to bring awareness about discrimination. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee does an incredible job of portraying the necessity of morality, the importance of family, and the overwhelming power of justice.…
In the Novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” Scout learns a lot from the experiences she has with Boo Radley. Through these experiences she comes of age, like other characters in the novel. Some of these occurrences she has was Boo help her view things from other people's point of view. At the end of the Novel she gets to see Boo for the first time, and doesn’t go how you would expect to. By the end of the Novel Scout is mature.…
One way that she personally developed in the novel was that at the beginning of the novel, Scout wanted nothing to do with becoming a grown lady: “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches…” (“To Kill a Mockingbird” 108). However, near the end of the novel, Scout changes her viewpoint on becoming a lady: “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” (“To Kill a Mockingbird” 318). On page 372, Scout allows Boo Radley to escort her as she walks him home. If this had happened at the beginning of the novel, Scout would not have been mature enough to know how important it was to have it look like Boo was escorting her. These instances reveal some major changes that Scout endures over the time period of the novel. If Scout had not been narrating the way she was, these changes would have been way too sudden. As Scout learns more about what being a real lady is, she begins to slowly become fond of the idea. Calpurnia, Miss Maudie Atkinson, and even Aunt Alexandra become Scout’s role-models for becoming a young lady. Scout’s narration even helps develop other characters such as Jem. Scout briefly mentions that Jem had changed and that he thought he knew everything, but later it is easy to see that he is a bit of a know-it-all and very bossy. For example, he tells Scout that if she…
Thanks to Atticus’ wisdom and raising, Scout comes a long way from her immature self at the beginning of the novel in realizing that humanity has great evil, but also has great good. Scout is introduced early on to evil in the form of racial prejudice and these experiences are carried with her to young adulthood. At the beginning of the novel, Scout is young, innocent, and sometimes disrespectful. In the early chapters, Scout makes some rude remarks towards Calpurnia, the maid. Scout suggests that Atticus have her fired after she gets in trouble. When she comes the conclusion that “(Calpurnia) likes Jem better’n me anyway.” and “suggested that Atticus lose no time in packing her off” (25), it shows how inconsiderate Scout is being towards Calpurnia. Also early in the novel Scout, Jem and Dill are afraid of Boo Radley, they think he is a monster and try to play tricks on him. They don’t know Boo Radley and have never seen him, yet still judge him on stories they have only heard. They feel threatened by him, and are scared to go on his property. This childlike behavior is a perfect example of how much room Scout has to grow. Scout also had the immature habit of getting into fistfights that started by the slightest provocation. When Jem had told Scout to stop beating up Walter Cunningham, he asked why she was fighting him in the first place. All Scout could say in response was “He didn’t have any…
How Jem and Scout start to feel about Boo Radley at the end of the book is also a big sign of them maturing. In the beginning of the novel Jem and Scout are afraid of Boo and think he is some kind of monster form stories they have heard from different people around Maycomb. Later in the book they come to realise that he is a very kind and peaceful man who wouldn’t hurt anyone. He saved the children and bought them safely home after they were attacked by Boo Ewell. And he left Jem presents in the knot hole in the tree. Scout has defiantly matured in this part of the novel as she has enough courage to stand on the Radley porch with Boo and not be afraid.…
Growing up and maturing happens to all people. However, sometimes the coming of age is more noticeable in some than it is in others. This is the case in Harper Lee’s character of Jem in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. All characters display their growth and have come to terms with themselves. Still there is one character who exhibits maturity more than anyone else. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee, uses the character of Jeremy Finch to portray the motif of his “being a gentleman” and the events in Tom Robinson's trial to show the moral development of his Bildungsroman.…
While it’s true that Scout has changed from the beginning of the novel to the end, the adults in the novel notice that Jem is not only changing but growing.In this part of the novel Calpurnia is explaining to Scout why she called Jem ‘Mister Jem’, “Baby.”said Calpurnia, “I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growing up”(153). Even Calpurnia notices that Jem is becoming a young man and he needs his own space and time. Scout doesn’t understand that Jem is going to go off on his own because it's apart of growing up.In conclusion, this shows that Jem is growing up and scout being young…
Scout’s character developed a lot throughout the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird. When Scout and Jem’s summer friend, Dil,l did not come to Maycomb for the summer, Scout said, “With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable. I stayed miserable for two days.” (Lee 116). Scout was only distraught about her love-life for a few days. She did not really focus on any one thing; she only focused on the sad news for a couple days. When Dill cried about the unfairness of the trial for Tom Robinson, Scout said, “Well, Dill, after all, he’s just a negroe.” (199). She thought that Tom’s fate did not matter because he was just a negroe. This encompassed Scout’s entire immaturity, showing that she did not develop much at all. It shows that she may not have really learned anything from Atticus’ sacrifices. After Cecil Jacobs taunted Scout with insults, she said, “It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight.” (77). She just clenched her fists and walked away. In the past, she would have fought back with violence, but now she just let it go. When Jem talked about the difference in all the people of Maycomb, Scout said, “Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (227) Scout realized that all people are more or less the same. This statement somewhat redeemed her and proved that she may have actually gleaned some knowledge from observing Atticus. Jem also developed in the story.…