To Kill a Mockingbird: Maturity of Scout
It is human nature to grow, and along with growth there is maturity. Harper Lee shows us this in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, as scout, the main character, matures though the book. Scout slowly learns to control her unstable temper and avoid fistfights. She is young and innocent but as she grows up she understands more about her society and the culture during early 1900s America. She changes from a helpless child to a more experienced and grown up lady.
In early chapters of the book, Scout continues to pick fights at the slightest hint of insult. An example of this is when Scout beats up Walter Cunningham for “not having his lunch” which is a not a good reason to beat someone up for. But as the book continues, she doesn’t sweat the small stuff and stays out of fights. When Cecil Jacobs insults Atticus, instead of fighting, Scout walks away and ignores the remark. Scout Learned from past events and matured from experiences to know that it’s not always worth it.
As most children would, young Scout was learning and experiencing things throughout her growth. As she got older, she was able to understand things much better as well as being able to apply lessons and experiences in her everyday life. She began to act more grown up in events like Aunt Alexandria’s dinner party. Scout put aside how much she hated wearing dresses and how she disliked her Aunt but rather, joined in on their talks. Even though she didn’t want to “act more like a lady”, she went along with it to please her Aunt to create a bond and more of a relationship between one another. When the news of Tom’s death came by, her thinking showed maturity and strength as she thought “if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.”. These events show how Scout was starting to become more mature and act older. She understood the circumstances and acted accordingly.
Another event that shows Scout’s change of attitude and thinking was the way she treated Boo Radley. At the beginning of the book Dill, Jem, and Scout enjoyed playing the “Boo Radley” game. It was a game of harassing Boo by trying to catch a glimpse of him or show their courage and bravery by touching his house. As the months passed, Scout’s fears and childish behavior involving boo went away. She says how “the Radley Place had ceased to terrify me” and shows more maturity and change of attitude. She realizes that Boo Radley is a human being, just like herself. By the end of the book, Scout begins to call him by his real name Arthur Radley. Saving the children’s lives, Scout finally has a chance to really see him. Instead of acting like her old self, she acts mature and has a respectful attitude. Scout even ends up walking him home, treating him like he was an old friend and she always did it. Ignoring her childhood innocence and games she treats Arthur like an adult and does it with respect.
