To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

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How to Kill a Mockingbird Growing up can be the most memorable and challenging times in life. It is unique path to a person's coming-of-age that is marked by important life lessons. These sometime traumatizing lessons create formative bases for people to grow and develop into the best version of themselves they can be. People both young and old cherish coming-of-age novels because they allow them to reflect on their own story once again. Written in the mid 1950’s by a young Alabama woman named Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird is an unforgettable and timeless coming of age story of the young protagonist, Jem, because it highlights his personal development from a naive child to a mature young adult. This novel highlights the coming of age of Jem through his recognition of the existence of evil in his life, his development of compassion towards those less fortunate than him, and his realization that the people in his life are not always as they seem. The recognition that evil exists in his life was one of the most important aspects in Jem’s personal development. Jem is first exposed to the evil that lives within his own town when he understands that the lynch mob will hurt his father. This is shown through his refusal to leave his father’s side …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Jem is able to recognize the existence of evil within his own community; He realizes that people are always far more complex than they appear to be; and, finally, he develops compassion towards both people and things that are less fortunate than him. Jem is forced to leave his childhood naïveté behind and is exposed to the cruelty power of systematic racism and the injustice in everyday life. Ultimately, Jem learns to challenge common perception and develops his own personal values and morals that make him the unique character that To Kill a Mockingbird is loved and remembered

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  • Coming of Age in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

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    Everyone goes through different changes as they grow up. Maturing, coming of age, and doing the right thing are important themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This theme is most often seen in the character Jeremy “Jem” Finch. He portrays this theme when he begins to enter puberty and becomes a young man. Jeremy starts to become more independent, wiser and more able to comprehend adult situations; Jem begins to get a better grasp on things. Other characters that demonstrate this theme are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee shows how Scout comes of age in similar ways to Jem. Scout begins to grow up and become more tolerant of others by “putting herself in another person’s skin”. Boo displays his “coming of age” in a somewhat different way than Jem and Scout. There’s a scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where Boo has the chance to do the right thing by putting himself in harm’s way in order to save lives, and he takes the chance. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that is overflowing with the theme “coming of age” (whether it is shown through the main character or others). This theme is important to the story because these characters are a small example of the changes that Maycomb needs to undergo. Jeremy Finch is the character in which this theme is most represented in.

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  • Boo Radley Innocence Quotes

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    Jeremy “Jem” Finch is a leading protagonist in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” published in 1960. Jem matured greatly throughout the duration of the book, starting to resemble and idolize his father, achieves the status of a guardian to his sister and introduces a whole new set of ideals in his lifestyle. He embodies the themes of growth. Throughout the novel we see how perceptions of things such as courage, respect, tolerance, and cruelty changes Jem as he matures.

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  • Compassion and Tolerance in To Kill A Mockingbird

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