Factors That Influence Scout’s Maturity

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Factors That Influence Scout’s Maturity As people grow up, they change and mature. Scout, the main character in the novel To kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is a perfect example of how someone’s thoughts and actions change as they mature. The story is narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl that is growing up in Maycomb, Alabama, a few years after the Great Depression. Scout lives through many social issues, including racism in the Deep South. This issue is displayed when her attorney father tries his best to defend an innocent black man in a very controversial case. Three main factors that influence Scout are age, family, and social class. Furthermore, with all of this going on Scout eventually has to learn how to control her volatile temper, act more like a lady, and learn not to judge someone just from what she’s heard. Age is a vital factor that influences Scout in the novel. Scout is shown as being a rude, quick-tempered, hot- headed little girl who sees nothing wrong with beating up anyone who angers her. This is most prominent when she decides to beat up Walter Cunningham after he accidentally gets her in trouble with the teacher on the first day of school. Scout says: “catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came by and told me to stop. Walters’s fists were half cocked, as if expecting an onslaught from both of us. I stomped at him to chase him away, but Jem put out his hand and stopped me” (Lee 23). Age influenced her to want to hurt Walter because she is young, immature, and does not have the ability to contain her emotions yet. Scout learns to calm down after Atticus lectures Scout about fighting Walter, if she was caught fighting again, Scout would have to face her father once again. When Scout gets into an argument later with Cecil, she reflects on what her father had
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