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To kill a mocking bird character growth essay
To kill a mocking bird character growth essay
Coming of age to kill a mocking bird essay part 1
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As a child grows, many people influence their development as a person. Some people impact more than others, and a select few really leave their mark. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” several characters play this role. Among them, Miss Maudie Atkinson, a woman who proves herself a strong character, prevails as the one who has the greatest impact on Scout Finch, the protagonist of this novel. As Scout matures and grows up, her views on the world around her change. Through subtle yet effective ways, Miss Maudie teaches Scout many life lessons about being humble, judging, and attitude, all of which ultimately have a great effect on the kind of person Scout develops into and her outlook on the world. Among many things, Miss Maudie teaches Scout that she should not judge people based solely on rumors she might hear about them. Scout, being only six years old at the time of the story, believes everything that reaches her hears and takes most things literally. Rumors she hears about a man named Boo Radley, who many consider the town freak because of his different lifestyle and because nobody ever sees him, create in her the belief that he is a crazy maniac. The activities she takes part in with her older brother Jem and their friend Dill only fuel her theories about Boo. When Jem and Dill begin shunning Scout aside, she spends her time with Miss Maudie instead, and they develop a kind of friendship. Miss Maudie, a Baptist who loves nature, has high morals, and treats everyone as equals, aids in Scout discontinuing her belief about Boo Radley’s state of mind. At one point, they have a conversation regarding Boo. They discuss the rumors Scout has heard thus far about him, and Miss Maudie shoots down her beliefs. When Scout asks Mi... ... middle of paper ... ...of her father. She takes greater pride in calling herself his daughter, even though she cannot tell anyone about what happened. This event plays a great role in how Scout views talents and people’s attitude towards their own skills. Clearly, Miss Maudie Atkinson proves very influential in Scout’s life. Scout learns many lessons and morals from her, which ultimately help her become a better person. The lessons and morals Scout acquires provide her with many of the tools necessary for success in life and for improving her character. Among many things, Scout learns from Miss Maudie that she should not judge people or believe rumors, act humbly about any skills she possesses, and always maintain a good and positive attitude. However, not only Scout can learn from Miss Maudie. All individuals can take a lesson from Miss Maudie and become a better person in the process.
Even though, this novel was set in the depression era, Scout goes through times in her life when she learns moral lessons through the education taught by Atticus, this results in empathy being shown and Scout also learns to fight with her head rather than her fist. However, as she faces hardship and goes through difficult times, seeing as her father is defending Tom Robinson (who is a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell), she is forced to grow up and enter the adult world. As this is the case, Scout finds herself helping Atticus and this increases the relationship between father and daughter since Scout sees her father as a good role model. Even though Atticus isn’t seen as an ordinary father he is still seen as role model by his children, this implies that he must have done something right to make them approve of him. In comparison to Mr Ewell, Atticus is seen as a role model as he doesn’t smoke or drink. These bad habits that Atticus has refrained from have had an impact on the way his children have been brought up. Unlike Bob, Atticus cares for his children and tries to help the...
Characters in a book not only tell the story, but teach the reader a lesson. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that exhibits racism and gives the readers a taste of what it was like in the 1930’s. One of the several major characters of this book is Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout. She matured greatly because of women characters such as Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, and her Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout teaches all readers the lesson of how it is important to have a motherly figure in your life; she does so through possessing the traits of being curious, tomboy, and hot tempered.
...ht she knew with a new perception. Scout learns that though there is evil in the world that does not mean that there is no good. Scout’s development resulted in a person who is able to clearly perceive the world without looking through rose-coloured glasses. Scout began her journey utterly innocent of the world surrounding her, an innocence that only children could retain. She then advances to an understanding that there was more out there then what she understood existed. And now, she attains the acuity, astuteness and keenness she needed to mature. In the end, Scout did indeed mature, and has come to realize the true realities that surround her, and has begun to comprehend the meaning of true human nature. Anne Frank once said, “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right path, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”
The setting affects the character development of Scout as she faces the troubles of acting like a “girl” (4.41) because she dislikes acting in the ladylike manner that is expected of women in the 1950s. Furthermore, Scout fears that acting like a “girl” would lead Dill and Jem to stop interacting with her due to the feeling of the subtle
Scout learns to accept people as they truly are instead of what she thought they were and starts to see Maycomb in a different light as a result of coming in contact with racial prejudice, seeing the world from Boo Radley’s perspective, and losing her early childhood perception of Maycomb. These experiences help her grow out of her ignorance and develop an adult-like view on the problems facing her. She takes initiative to look at how Boo Radley must have felt over the past years and ask Atticus what it really meant to be called a ‘nigger lover’. These events show Scout trying to see things for what they really are, instead of what they seem to be.
She went on and on about how Miss Maudie had told her that I had broke her scuppernong this morning and when my father found out how he would send me to reform school. As she crowed on and on, she reminded me of big, fat buzzard. I knew she was talking nonsense, because I had not been near Miss Maudie's scuppernong since last summer and she would never tell Atticus even if I had broke it. Then she started to pick on Scout.
"Miss Maudie’s benevolence extended to Jem and Dill, whenever they paused in their pursuits" this taught Scout that you should always strive to be kind.
Scout initially lacks an understanding of her nanny Calpurnia; but after enduring a difficult experience, Scout learns who Calpurnia is and how she has helped her by being both a mother figure and a role model. Early in the novel, Calpurnia witnesses Scout criticizing the way her peer ate his lunch, and Calpurnia attempts to correct Scout’s poor behavior. Scout defends herself, leading to a heated argument. After the fight, Scout vows that, “when [Calpurnia] wasn’t looking [she]’d go off and drown [herself].” (25) At the outset, Scout is a typical self-centered child who is thoughtless as to how her actions impact others, especially those close to her, like Calpurnia.
Scout's narration and the character's dialog prove that Alexandra is characterized by her traditional values while Miss Maudie is characterized as a modern woman. The issues of gender roles are still a large part of society today and it affects a majority of adolescents because they feel the need to conform and ignore their individualism and that is why this novel is still relevant to society today.. The lesson to be learned here is to be comfortable in one's own skin and don't listen to negative feedback if it is not constructive. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout was the narrator of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" (by Harper Lee). At first she didn't know a lot about Maycomb (the town they live in), the people in the town and life. Through the book she had lots of new experiences and learned a lot. This knowledge caused significant changes in her characteristics and perspective. As the novel progressed, she has grown up. She has become a better person.
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudice. As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults.
Scout’s maturity is warmhearted when she claims, “You’re real nice Uncle Jack, an I Reckon I love you…but you don’t understand Children much,”(Lee,113). Scout is becoming more cautious when she is expressing her emotions to her loved ones as she is frustrated with the way her Uncle Jack has treated her at the family dinner with the involvement of her cousin Francis. This explains Uncle Jack’s comprehension of the situation between Scout and Francis, as he sees the differences of right and wrongs of the fight. Scout also begins to see the way her Aunt Alexandra has always been trying to stay positive as she ruminates, “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I,” (318). This reveals the side of Scout after something terrible has happened to the family and also affected the town of Maycomb with the announcement of Tom Robinson’s death. It gives Scout the capability to keep her feelings to herself of the loss of innocence of Tom Robinson as the ladies in the town gathered to talk and gossip about how they feel about Tom being dead. In Scout’s experiences throughout the novel, it has shown she has become a young lady with good morals from her family and has given her strength in the difficult
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
Take a moment to think, what would you do if you didn’t have your parents/guardians? How would you be acting? Where would you be? Adults have a big part in a child’s life not only because they are there to support them but being role models to show them how they should be acting and maturing over time. The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee” takes place in a small town named Maycomb and it has a great deal to do with children maturing over time and how adults come into place as role models. The 3 main role models in this story are: The father Atticus Finch, The house keeper Calpurnia, And the neighbour across the street Miss Maudie. In this essay you will be reading about how the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” illustrates how adult role-models directly influence the maturation of children.
From this Scout becomes aware that if you are a little bit of happiness in somebody's life you can change them almost completely by showing them that everything is not evil, You just have to be willing to try. Throughout the whole book and especially in the ending, you learn that a scout really is the type of person that you could expect to pass up to everyone else. She will always have a lot of kindness to share with other people. She will not be afraid to stand up against what she thinks is wrong and what she thinks is unfair to people who have been deemed “in a lower class” than herself. Lastly, she will not be afraid to stand out in the crowd of women that surround her wearing the stereotypical clothes of the time period while she wears overalls and doesn't always tie her shoes.