Personal Change In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Readers feel some feeling of hope because there are characters that are willing to change. This can be seen in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. An example of willingness to change that is seen throughout the novel is when a character shows personal change. Another type of change seen is changing belief. Finally, growing up is another type of change. To Kill a Mockingbird provides readers with some feeling of hope because there are characters that have the courage to believe in change. Two characters that show personal change in To Kill a Mockingbird is Mrs. Maudie and Mrs.Dubose. Miss. Maudie shows personal change when her house is burnt into ashes, and it doesn't personally affect her. '' 'You ain't grieving', Miss Maudie?' I asked, surprised.…show more content…
This also teaches Jem that before he can live with other people’s opinions, he has to be able to deal with his own thoughts. This shows change in belief, because at First Jem thought that what other people’s thoughts and opinions had more value than his own. Later, he learns that before he can accept other people’s opinions, he has to be able to accept his own. Mr. Walter Cunningham Sr. also shows change in belief. Walter Cunningham also shows change in belief when he shows up, in front of Maycomb jail, as a member of the lynching mob the night before the trial. "They were sullen-looking sleepy-eyed men who seemed unused to late hours. I sought once more for a familiar face, and at the center of the semi-circle I found one. "Hey, Mr. Cunningham." (204). Near the beginning of the novel, Mr. Cunningham was once Atticus’s client. He couldn’t pay Atticus back in money, so he paid back by providing goods. The Cunningham’s were poor, but very polite. The next time he appeared in the novel was when the lynching mob was formed, and Mr. Cunningham was a part of it. His beliefs changed drastically. He went from looking up to Atticus for guidance to being completely against Atticus defending Tom Robinson. When Scout rambled to Mr. Cunningham, it made him stand in Atticus’s shoes for a minute. Not only did Mr. Cunningham show the courage to…show more content…
Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. ‘Atticus,’ his voice was distant, ‘can you come here a minute, sir?’ … Atticus was in the doorway… Jem was standing in a corner of the room, looking like the traitor he was. ‘Dill, I had to tell him,’ he said. ‘You can’t run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin’.”’(187-188). Jem is becoming very mature. He knew the right thing to do was tell Atticus that Dill had ran away, for Dill’s sake. Jem had the courage to change, and grow up. Growing up is a way of providing readers with the feeling of hope because characters like Scout and Jem have the courage to believe in change. To Kill a Mockingbird provides readers with some felling of hope because there are characters that have the courage to believe in change. There were three general types of willingness to change seen though out this novel. Personal Changed was presented by Miss.Maudie and Mrs. Dubose. Change in belief was presented by Jem and Walter Cunningham Sr. Lastly, change through growing up was seen though Scout and
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