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 …show more content…
(Constantakis Ed.)
He stands almost as a mentor for Scout and her coming of age. He attempts to guide Scout and her brother Jem so that they may go through the process of maturity smoothly, and not grow up with misconceptions or twisted views of reality.
For example, two lessons that Atticus teaches Scout include one about racism and another about empathy.
"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." (Lee 119)
Miss. Maudie explains to Scout what Atticus had meant when he said that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout is being taught about racism and acceptance. The reference to the mockingbird is symbolic of people, and the quote teaches about tolerance of people of different races.
Atticus wanted to teach Scout about empathy. He tells her that she will be able to get along better with many more people if she attempts to understand their point of view. (Lee