Theme Of Growth In To Kill A Mockingbird

The book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee, takes place in the south during the Great Depression, at the height of the Jim Crow era. During this time being able to face the adversities present was a sign of true maturity. Many characters, such as Jem and Scout, face many adversities and situations that led to their growth throughout the novel. The growth intertwining through the story was able to begin the development of character and also the development of Jem and Scout who begin to mature as individuals throughout the novel. Maturity is an important and prevalent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. During the novel, Jem and Scout shed their innocence as they face trial hardships, discover true friendship, and realize family values. Just …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Scout would never address Boo formally by his real name or acknowledging that he was her neighbor. She always stated that he was legend and a monster, which shows she never really thought of him as a person. Towards the end of the novel when she finally meets him Scout states, “… as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face. His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbors image blurred with my sudden tears.”(362). This shows how Scout is finally maturing as an individual because instead of calling him a legend or monster, as she used to to think of him as, now she sees him as a neighbor or a friend. The recognition of him as a neighbor and Scout letting go of her childhood fantasies of him, come together to let her finally grow away from the rowdy, little girl she was. She was able to discover a new friendship with Boo Radley because of her realization that he is not the monster everyone thinks he is. She realizes that he was her savior the night of the attack and through that came the growth from of herself and her new …show more content…
Jem and Scout mature and break away from their juvenile perspectives by being able to understand; adversities in life, realizing new companionships, and family morals. Maturity is the ability to face inequities as well as adversity and being able to grow from those experiences that are faced. Jem and Scout were able to face these hardships and overcome them by being able to grow from their child like views of the world they live in. In the novel, when Bob Ewell attacked the children and then later was killed by Boo, it was able to make Scout mature in many ways. She was able to understand that Boo was the one who killed him and that everybody did not need to know this because she understood his shyness and respected it. Through a new perspective she was able to see he was mockingbird. Scout states, “’Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird wouldn’t it?’”(370). This shows even through children, maturity comes in numerous forms that many don’t realize, throughout literature and real