Theme Of Obstacles In To Kill A Mockingbird

Set shortly after the civil war and the start of the great depression in the small fictional town of Maycomb County, To Kill a Mockingbird depicts the struggles of the Finch family as their reputation is bruised and battered for defending a black man in a still racially prejudiced court of law. The Finch family must overcome challenging obstacles through this rough period but in doing so they evolve as people. The antiquity of this book falsely makes it seem as if modern day adolescents will struggle to identify with the characters, despite this, the journey of adolescents throughout the novel such as the ever-evolving Jem Finch give an insight into the importance of building character for both adolescents in the past and present. Jem Finch …show more content…
Jem displays reckless qualities when he sneaks out with Scout and Dill in order to try and get a look through the window of the Radley house. However, after the inevitable undoing of their plan, they are forced to quickly run home, but to Jem’s apprehension, as he is crawling under the fence he realises that his pants are caught and he is forced to take them off. Jem soon realises that if Nathan Radley finds his pants and tells his father, it will not only be him who will lose the respect of Atticus but Scout and Dill as well. He risks his own safety in order to make the daring journey back to the fence and save the reputation of his accomplices. This rite of passage shows that Jem is no longer thinking solely about himself and through this potentially dangerous rite of passage; Jem has evolved his inner character. Many adolescents in our modern society also go through this rite of passage in their life; their core values become clear when they must risk their something of their own in order to help others. Courage to help others, for example, is a core virtue which is highly admirable to have, it may be developed through rites of passage like in To Kill a Mockingbird but it can also be augmented over time. However, in most cases, the development of selfless courage usually begins from a singular core moment. The importance of developing …show more content…
Through rites of passage, the personality, values and behaviour of teenagers changes and evolves immensely. Jem’s journey throughout the novel depicts the importance of being an evolving person in such a way that even modern day audiences are able to identify. If you look back 5 years, 10 years or all the way to your childhood, have you stayed the same? Or have you changed for the better? The passage of time changes many things but it does not change the importance of rites of