Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, took place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The story follows the life of Scout Finch as she matures and understands the world of the “adults” through interactions and conflicts such as the Tom Robinson trial. The theme of coming of age plays a large part in the story, and the way Scout matures throughout the story is extremely clear through the events and her narration of these events. Scout’s mental growth throughout the book can be exemplified through her ability to step into someone’s shoes, her lessening belief in childhood myths, and her interactions with Aunt Alexandria. The ability to consider something from another person’s point of view, or figuratively “stepping into their shoes”, is an ability that Scout lacked in the beginning of the novel, but gained at the end. After entering school for the first time, Scout complained to Atticus about the misfortunes of the day, including her disagreements with Miss Caroline. Atticus, in return, taught her a valuable life lesson, saying “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 39). Scout, at the time, didn’t understand the full implications of his words, and returned to insisting on not returning to school. However, at the end of the novel, she has finally gained the ability to see things from another person’s, Boo Radley in this case, point of view. She had “stepped into his shoes” and saw what he had seen all these years. She had seen the way he could observe town life, and the way he had a clear view of her and Jem playing around through the years. She had finally understood Atticus’s words, admitting that he was right. Childhood myths influenced Scout’s thoughts and beliefs while she was young, but she eventually grew out of them. In the earlier chapters of the novel, she and Jem both believed in supernatural beings called “Hot Steams,” and they even made up an incantation to ward them off. However, in last chapters of the novel, while walking to the Halloween Festival at night alone with Jem, Scout had thought of them in a nostalgic sense, as a mere memory from the past. “We laughed. Haints, Hot Steams, incantations, secret signs, had vanished with our years as mist with sunrise” (Lee 341). Another myth, which played a larger part in the plot of the book, that Scout believed in while she was younger was the myth of Boo Radley. There were horrific rumours of him, spread by gossips such as Ms. Stephanie Crawford, and Scout found herself believing in them. She would constantly be afraid of the Radley house, and run past it on her way to and fro school. However, with events such as the mysterious appearance of objects in the knot-hole of a tree and the blanket Boo Radley draped over Jem, along with the passage of time and growth in understanding, Scout began to be less intimidated by the Radley place. When she enrolled in third grade, the Radley house had ceased to terrify her, and she imagined having conversations with “Arthur Radley.” …show more content…
Due to the fact that the book was narrated by Scout, this means that Scout herself had also matured. Through the way that Scout was able to see things from Boo Radley’s point of view, the story ties in Atticus’s words from the beginning of the novel, showing that Scout had understood one crucial lesson of life. Through the way she grew out of childhood myths and began to discern rumors and people with her own mind, the story shows how she had taken a step towards adulthood. Through the way her mindset towards Aunt Alexandra changes and the way she able to act like a lady even when she didn’t want to, the story shows how Scout had grown out of the simple childish mindset. Coming of age played a large role within the plot of the novel, as shown through Scout’s understanding of other people’s perspective, her lessening belief in myths and rumors, and her interactions with Aunt