Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that showcases two kids, Jem and Scout, maturing throughout inevitable events. Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, just wants his children to grow up like other kids and be carefree. However, because of their family name and its reputation, many people in Maycomb and Atticus’s relatives do not approve of the way Atticus raises his children. Jem and Scout manage to stay playful and stay true to their nature just as Atticus raised them to be until their family faces hardship because of Atticus’s case as a lawyer. This forces the kids to mature at times due to the severity of their situation. Harper Lee focuses the book around the children and Atticus as a father and a lawyer. Lee’s epigraph of “Lawyers, I suppose,…show more content…
Similarly, their father, Atticus, will also occasionally reveal his child-like innocence. After Atticus had gone home after losing Robinson’s trial, he finds a feast of different kinds of food the next morning. Sometimes, adults, especially those of high authority, will feel as if their efforts deserve such gratitude. However, Atticus seems confused on why he is being praised which shows innocence. Calpurnia explained how food from Robinson’s community has been sent to him and, “Atticus looked up at her, puzzled…” (Lee 213). His eyes even, “filled with tears” (213) and, “he did not speak for a moment” (213). This entire scene reminded me of a child that has been put in a very stressful situation and suddenly being rewarded, and so they burst into…show more content…
Atticus display his innocent gratitude through being deeply moved and modest from all the gifts he received from Robinson’s community even though they lost the case. He exhibit that he, too, can learn from his child, Scout. From Scout, he was reminded that he must be kind-hearted and see the good in everyone. Children lived happily and carefree because they hadn’t learned resentment just yet. They also just see the good in everyone; every single person is a friend to them. If we want to live happily, we must learn to see to also see the good in everyone, have sincere modesty and innocence. The child within us has never left, we just choose to bury it with things we found more important than innocence as we grow older. If we want to live happily, we need to remind ourselves of the child in us. We were children first; grown-ups
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