Scout’s Coming of Age
For Scout, coming of age meant getting taller and more days of playing with her brother Jem. However, once she learned about Maycomb’s ways, she did not think it would be enjoyable to grow up and be a lady, or grow up and watch racism towards blacks. Scout Finch, starting off in the beginning of the book was six. She would rather solve problems with her fists than with her head. She first witnessed racism at the start of school days, and then had other events in her life. Aunt Alexandra came to live with Scout and her family, a black man was wrongly convicted, and Scout learned to never shoot a mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s childhood included fatherly advice, no feminism, and an unwanted death.…show more content… Society says they are different from men, and cannot dress or act the same. Being equal, and Scout being able to dress like a male, is known as Feminism. Women were treated like they were delicate and would be expected to act that way. Miss Maudie, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout got the news that Tom Robinson died. He had purposely gotten himself killed because he had no chances of getting free. Knowing that the Missionary meeting was going on with other ladies, they could not let everyone know. It would cause a commotion. Scout thought, “I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk toward Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (318). Setting aside disagreements with her aunt, she followed her aunt’s orders of being lady-like. Scout did not want to cause panic, so although she does not like to dress/act like a proper lady, she acted like one at that moment. It being her first true attempt at purposely turning into a young lady, Scout realizes that the ideal of womanhood is different from reality. Scout saw that although there were no equal rights for her to act like a man because of society, it was helpful to act like a lady. Scout realized being a lady was not so bad after