...Coming of age is a life-long process all humans inevitably go through. This process of maturity can often be examined from fictional characters, such as Scout and Jem from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsb by Scott Fitzgerald. Each of these characters encounters different processes of coming of age. When these characters process of maturation and coming of age are compared, the most relevant coming of age best exhibited by Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, following with Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Gatsby from The Great Gatsby; however, differences in coming of age are apparent in the different time periods of each novel setting, practicality, and present social issues. Holden Caulfield, the main character in The Catcher in the...
Words: 1855 - Pages: 8
...Innocence As children age and mature, they start to lose their innocence and purity. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates how children fail to keep their pureness as they grow older. Through the eyes of Scout, the reader sees Maycomb as an angelic town where the residents can do no harm. However, throughout the course of the novel, as Jem and Scout Finch grow and lose innocence, the town of Maycomb does too. Although the loss of purity, especially in children, can break one’s heart, it is human nature and sooner or later, everyone will surrender their sinlessness. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story about how the main characters move from a state of innocence to a mature one after suffering from, but surviving many misadventures. Lee compares many of the characters to a mockingbird, a symbol of pure chastity. Scout and Jem, the main characters of...
Words: 630 - Pages: 3
...To Kill A Mockingbird: Overview Vanessa Vigneau English 400 March 20, 2015 Cultural and Literary Significance To Kill A Mockingbird was written during the most critical time periods of racial discrimination, the 1930s. During this time racial prejudice was already an issue, especially in the southern states, but during the Great Depression it escalated even more and the imagery in To Kill A Mockingbird allows the reader to fully understand the impact prejudice had on children and adults. To further explore the cultural significance it is important to also realize that the story time period closely related to the time period in which it was published, 1960. During this time, many were trying to fight Jim Crow laws of segregation and were in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. (2007) This story would seem obvious to some as a coming of age story involving the main character and narrator, Scout, but it was much more involved than a little girl growing up and learning to see things from another’s point of view. This story involves the cultural significance of how people lived in the south in the 1930s and how children and adults were affected by the on-going, ugly, violent prejudice. In the story Scout and Jem are taught by their father lessons about courage and tolerance as it is becoming clear to Atticus, he can no longer shield his children from what is happening in their town. He teaches them to stand in someone else’s shoes and consider the world from that perspective...
Words: 1798 - Pages: 8
...A mockingbird is a quiet animal that does does a better job at listening than other birds. In Harper Lee’s Coming-Of-Age fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, I feel like the mockingbird symbolizes Boo Radley and Tom Robinson the most, who were both peaceful people who never wanted to hurt anybody or anything. To harm an honest person or creature would be a sin. Scout's dad, Atticus, tells Scout and Jem, "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." The mockingbird symbolizes these two characters because they don’t have their own unique voice; they’re content to follow along. Whereas, the blue jay (representing the people) is loud and obnoxious, the mockingbird just mimics other people’s...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...Throughout a person’s life, they go through many changes, including the change from childhood to adulthood. Throughout the change from childhood to adulthood, one grows physically, mentally, and morally. This change is known as coming of age. The theme of coming of age is evident in To Kill a Mockingbird, mainly focused on Scout and Jem. Jem is an example of coming of age because he goes through a physical and moral maturation throughout the book. Physically, Jem grows from a boy to a young man. He goes through puberty, as he ages from the age of 10 to 13. As he gets older, Jem starts to noticeably change. Scout says that she “noticed a new slimness about his body” and that Jem was “growing taller” (Lee 301). Jem is also proud of his newfound...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...Ethical Influence Paper September 18th, 2015 Brandon McConnell To Kill A Mockingbird If you were to ask me about a book or a hero that was an ethical influence on me, I would tell you that both come from the same book/movie. It would be Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird, it is a classic example of heroism and doing the right thing and there is many readers who would agree with that statement. I read this book at the young age of 14 in middle school when I was still developing my feel for the ethics of right and wrong so it made a lasting impact on me growing up and developing as a person. Summarize the book or hero’s life in a few paragraphs; Everyone should know the story of To Kill A Mockingbird but if you don’t, let me share it with you. It happens in a little town of Maycomb, Alabama in the heat of all the racism in the South. In this little town everyone knows each other and everyone knows what happens. The main characters are the Finch family with Atticus, Scout, and Jem in their small house in the middle of Maycomb. Scout is a young girl who grew up with a lot of boys and acts that way in the way she deals with conflict. Jem is the older brother who isn’t really isn’t in the picture a lot but is in a crucial incident of the story with Scout. Atticus is a very well known coveted lawyer; everyone in town knows him and looks up to him as a person and a professional. That was short lived when Atticus did something he knew was right but society...
Words: 1361 - Pages: 6
...To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee is a story about Scout and Jem growing up in a small town. A small southern town. The character, Scout faces a wide variety of trials and experiences throughout the story that help her come of age. Scouts coming of age is developed at school, with the help of Miss Caroline, through conflict, setting, and theme. Scout begins as a girl who is quick to violence, and kind of rude towards her authority. Throughout the story, one would see that she has started to come of age. With the help of people around her. Firstly, Scout begins to come of age with her conflict between her teacher, Miss Caroline. On pages 17-18 of the book, To Kill A MockingBird, It says “ Before the first morning was over, Miss Caroline Fisher, our teacher, hauled me up to the front of the room and patted the palm of my hand with a ruler, then made me stand in the corner until noon”. This is an example of conflict between Miss Caroline and Scout. Miss Caroline is upset with Scout because her job is to teach, and she can’t do that is Scout already knows how to do everything. Scout had already known how to read and it’s probably a struggle for Miss Caroline to teach Scout something she already knows. Miss Caroline feels as if...
Words: 595 - Pages: 3
...5-18-17 TKM Essay Award winning novelist, Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrates multiple coming of age moments for the narrator Scout, also known as Jean Louise Finch. Specifically in chapter 5, Lee demonstrates how Scout felt heartbreak when Dill told her he loved her and then left her. Lees purpose is to expand this aspect of the human condition Heartbreak of betrayal by incorporating literary elements such as symbol, juxtaposition, metaphor, and tone. Lee opens up chapter 5 with Scout explaining how she knew Jem would get tired of her nagging him, and was relieved when he was. “My nagging got the better of Jem eventually,” (Pg.55). This passage demonstrates how Scout realized that her nagging of Jem would only irritate him more, and that was a moment of realization and maturation for her, coming of age. Lee uses the symbol of the game that Scout and Jem were playing to juxtapose how young they were. The game was about Boo Radley’s life, and it wasn't exactly child friendly, juxtaposing how young Dill and Scout were. Lee uses the symbolism of summer to represent Dill and Scouts relationship. Summer...
Words: 562 - Pages: 3
...providing content through different mediums within diverse and similar perceptions. Although some ideas may appear alike, differences are inevitable. Lawyers for example. Both lawyers in a criminal case appear to defend their defendant in court. They both occur reflecting on the same situation or problem, but the two have complete diverse interpretations on the committed actions according to their defendant. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, and film adaption,...
Words: 465 - Pages: 2
...Greene Dr. Seymour ENG 113D 11th April 2016 Portrayals of Race In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses a variety of techniques to show how race pays a factor in many different ways of life during 1930s time period in a small town Maycomb, Alabama. As Harper Lee writes with vivid details of what the events are like during the 1930’s. During her book To Kill a Mockingbird, she showed exactly what it was like to live in Maycomb County Alabama when it comes to race. Atticus is the father of Jim and Scout who also is a lawyer whose office was in the Maycomb County Courthouse. Atticus had a very special role in that court house; Atticus had not had just an empty office but an office full of work. His first two clients...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
...‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.’ (3: 85-87) To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAMB) written by Harper Lee focuses on the inequality of race throughout America in the early 1900’s. The building roman novel published in 1960 utilises literacy techniques including symbolism, first person and characterisation in order to explore key themes such as innocence, social inequality and gender stereotyping. The novel promotes an insightful, entertaining and morally educating perspective for all readers. Literacy techniques are a critical part of the storytelling. Symbolism is used in order to enhance the story; it expresses a deeper meaning towards...
Words: 842 - Pages: 4
...Literature is composed of archetypes and some archetypes are usually taken from the human experience of coming-of-age. Such is the case in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, where Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her brother Jem live in their ordinary world of Maycomb, Alabama. However, Scout’s ordinary world changes when their father, Atticus Finch, defends a negro named Tom Robinson in court for being accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Harper Lee has Scout’s learn about empathy, courage, and standing against prejudiced ideas from her role models in order to build Scout’s character to prepare for the inmost cave. Scout learns how to empathize with other from her roles models to take the first step out of the inmost cave. Early...
Words: 2132 - Pages: 9
...and unity… TEXT COMPARISON Are we always champions of tolerance, courage and receptiveness to others? By the very definition of humanity, we must be. Humanity: benevolence, understanding and kindness towards other people. It is, arguably, our very human nature to feel compassion, courage, understanding, unity and empathy towards our fellow man. Unfortunately, prejudice and judgement also cling to the human condition like tumorous stains – traits which society still finds hard to surmount. Despite the efforts of governments, groups and individuals, humankind still finds it difficult to trust based on the soul of a person; we are more comfortable making judgements based on skin colour. Nelle Harper Lee through her 1960 novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ and Boaz Yakin through his 2000 film, ‘Remember the Titans,’ are text composers who tackle the ill-defined paradigms of ‘prejudice, courage and unity’ by painting a picture of the confronting face of racism. Prejudice, courage and unity are notions that are dealt with differently by both composers and, through their use of structural and linguistic features, each composer presents this concept in a manner which connects (or weakens a connection)...
Words: 3544 - Pages: 15
...the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a poignant coming-of-age story about loss of innocence in the character of Scout. Three significant events illustrate this fact. The first example portrayed in the novel occurred when Scout went to the jail to find out what Atticus was up to, only to find that a mob had arrived to lynch Tom Robinson. This event left Scout with the notion of a mob mentality. Another event was the turning point of the story, the trial of Tom Robinson; this defining moment taught Scout of prejudice and injustice. She had only a vague notion of prejudice until the trial. And finally, she experienced a real shock when Bob Ewell attempted to kill both her and Jem. This was malice in its purest form. Ultimately, these were all defining moments for Scout, and her innocence was lost as she was forced to a brutal awareness of the draconian ways of the world. The first example occurs when one evening Atticus crept out of the house. This was unusual because Atticus never went out late at night. Scout and Jem, curious about why Atticus had left incognito, followed him quietly to see what he would do. Neither was prepared for what they discovered: Atticus was guarding the jail that held Tom Robinson to protect him from the likely occurrence of a lynch mob. Well, a mob happened to come along, and they demanded entry to the jail so they could lynch Tom. Not realizing her danger, Scout fended off the mob. In the aftermath, Scout and Jem were having...
Words: 1000 - Pages: 4
...Atticus Finch People are ill-minded and sometimes just plain unlikable. Atticus, from Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, is not one of those people. He is one of the characters who plays a huge role in the coming of age of his daughter, Scout Finch. A lot of people in Maycomb, which is the city he lives in, are very prejudice against black people. Atticus, unlike them, is very respectful, an admirable role model, and tolerant towards the opinions of others. Atticus throughout the book, shows great respect for others views. In the case of when Atticus is walking home and Miss. Dubose is on the porch. Even though she doesn't respect him, he still says "Good evening , Mrs. Dubose! You look like a picture this evening."(Lee 133). This shows even though he know she doesn't like him much for defending Tom, he still says hello like a gentlemen. Another instance is whenever his kids mess up. He always shows them great respect and instead of...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
