Category: Coming of Age

Bob Richards wisely stated, “It may sound strange, but many champions are made by setbacks.” This means that although you may fail at something, how you come back up determines your strength. This quote relates to people with autism because many people with autism struggle with everyday occurrences and tasks. Autism is a brain-related development that can be applied to a spectrum ranging from high to low functioning. Autism affects the way people with autism interact with others and can cause people with autism may take things literally and demonstrate repetitive patterns. People with autism may also show strengths such as learning to read at an early age, memorizing and learning information quickly, and thinking and learning visually (Strength and abilities in autism; Mayo Clinic Staff). People with autism often face obstacles like everyone and often overcome these obstacles to achieve success despite adversity. This quote about overcoming obstacles, said by Bob Richards, has been demonstrated true by Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, by Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump, and by the life of Anthony Hopkins.

In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher struggles with many obstacles that he has to overcome to succeed. An obstacle Christopher encounters throughout the book is coming out of his comfort zone. This is clear when Christopher is looking for who killed Wellington and has to go around to the neighbors whom he does not know and talk to them. Christopher is coming out of his comfort zone because Christopher mentions, “I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before.” (Haddon 34). Although Christopher does not like strangers, he pushes himself out of his comfort zone to come closer to finding out who killed Wellington. Furthermore, Christopher told himself “If you are going to do detective work you have to be brave, so I had no choice” (Haddon 35), Although Christopher was setback by having to push himself, Christopher got up and pushed through toward his goal. Another obstacle Christopher overcame in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is his lack of independence. At the start of the book, Christopher mostly relies on his father. As Christopher uncovers the mystery of his mother, he gains independence, which ultimately leads him on his trip to find his mother all by himself. This is apparent that Christopher is feeling more independent during his trip when he says to Mother, “I have to go to Swindon to take my A level” (Haddon 205). Christopher’s math test represents complete independence because if he does well he may get into college. Now that Christopher has tasted independence from going to his Mother’s house independently, he wants to be completely independent. This shows that Christopher overcame his challenge of being dependent on other people and can now be self-reliant to decide for himself and also have the confidence to do things on his own that are out of his comfort zone.

Although the character Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump is not verified to be on the Autism spectrum, many people suspect him to be. Throughout the movie, Forest demonstrates certain characteristics that make people suspect he is on the spectrum, such as when Forrest can disassemble and reassemble an M-14 in record time and when he has a hard time reading social cues such as in the white house when he is told JFK he has to pee on national TV (Forrest Gump). Although Forrest had many setbacks in his life, he always came back stronger than before. An example of this would be when Forrest is shot in his rear and has to stay in the army clinic for a while and master ping-pong by keeping his eye on the ball. Soon he is discharged from the war and goes on to win gold in the Olympics in ping-pong (Forrest Gump). Even though Forrest was injured and could not fight in the war, he practiced ping-pong and refined his skills. This eventually led to him winning gold in the Olympics and overcoming his setbacks to become a literal champion. Another example of when Forrest overcame a setback is when his best friend Bubba is killed in battle, which makes Forrest sad. Although Forrest is sad, he eventually fulfills Bubba’s dream of owning a shrimping boat. In the process, Forest gets very rich from his business and investment in Apple (Forrest Gump). Not only did Forrest bring himself up by turning death into something positive but also helped others in the process. Forrest helped such as Bubba’s family by giving his mother a large sum of his money and his army lieutenant who lost his legs a new lease on life after he fell into a state of depression and alcoholism. From this Forrest has overcome his setbacks and has become a “champion” but also helped others in the process overcome their setbacks.

A real person who has overcome obstacles and thrived who is on the spectrum is Anthony Hopkins. Anthony is one of the many people who, after being diagnosed, were on the spectrum late into their lives. In an interview with Distractify, Anthony states, “I could never settle anywhere. I was troubled and caused trouble, especially in my early years … I don’t go to parties, I don’t have many friends.’ (Gatollari) also “Hopkins has been vocal about his struggles growing up in a ‘dysfunctional’ household and growing up being bullied.” (Gatollari) This could have been a setback to Anthony because he may have felt isolated from everyone else as they bullied him and did not understand him, which could have been the reason he did not have many friends or attend parties. Although Anthony had a rough childhood he did not let this stop him, becoming a very successful actor and gaining the respect of Steven Spielberg after “the actor was able to memorize a seven-page courtroom monologue and deliver the entire speech in a single take” (Gatollari). To exercise further that Anthony has overcome his setbacks and strived is how Anthony did not give up, even though his career had an extremely slow start. According to an article from Distractify “Then there’s the fact that even though he didn’t get his ‘big break’ until the 1991 release of Silence of the Lambs, when he was 54 years old, he began acting at 18.”(Gatollari). This illustrates that even though Anthony had a rough start to his career and did not have a big break for a while, he did not give up, which shows that although he had a setback, he did not let this stop him from being successful.

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder often face setbacks but often overcome them to achieve greatness. There are many examples of this such as Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Nighttime when Christopher has to come out of his comfort zone to get closer to solving the mystery and achieving success. Another instance is when Forrest in Forrest Gump wins the gold medal in the Olympics after he was shot and hurt in battle and could not fight. Lastly, a real person who has overcome setbacks and achieved success is Anthony Hopkins. Anthony had trouble growing up and did not let this hold him back from becoming a very successful actor. Although people may be different doesn’t mean they can not achieve greatness and overcome setbacks.

Popular culture is everywhere, from adolescents to adulthood. Popular culture impacts us and lives on through different forms of media, memory and nostalgia. However, it is important to note that culture making is a social process: all meanings of self, of social relations, all the discourses and texts that play such important cultural roles can circulate only in relationship to the social system, in our case that of white, patriarchal capitalism. In this essay I will focus on 3 popular culture icons: Tupac, Eminem and Britney Spears. These people were chosen as they share many similarities as well as differences in their career span, as well as the fanbase that they have obtained over the years. The concept of aging artists and interest/disinterest of their work will be explored.

Tupac was an icon of the 90’s hip hop/rap scene. During his time, Tupac was constantly in the media limelight, from this he made millions from sales of his albums and was always highlighted for the gangster life he had lived. So, what made Tupac? Tupac fit into the typical stereotype of a hip hop artist in the 90’s, extremely ‘vulgar’ music, that in most cases showcased themes of violence and sexism, young black male, and ties related to gangs which could often be showcased on media and/or through the artists music. Hip hop is a tough space to get into, especially when artists have ties to gangs, as this can lead to serious implications. Tupac Shakur was murdered on 13th September, 1996. Holland argues that the hard edge of hip-hop culture is a prime example of a new kind of black identification; giving up on the idea of being a ‘person’ first and then a ‘corpse’, some black performers have embraced the culture of death as a way to move their bodies out of space and into time. This is especially interesting as today, more than 16 years after his death, Tupac is still well known and a pop culture icon of the 20th and 21st century.

Tupac’s audience grew up without him aging. The music lived on while he lay a corpse in only people’s memories, his image remembered through his music. More recently, at 2012 Coachella, fellow rap artist Snoop Dogg performed on stage to 75,000 people with a hologram of Tupac. Google search results for ‘Tupac hologram’ exceeded 50 million, there were hundreds of stories across multiple media forms showcasing ‘virtual2Pac’s’ impact on everything from music to entertainment, ethics, technology and intellectual property (Digital Domain, 2014; Brunt, 2015). This spectacle gave audiences the feeling that they were watching him in real time on the stage with Snoop Dogg, a feeling of nostalgia for many fans that would have been in the crowd, and an essence of what could have been for fans that did not have the chance to see him perform live prior to 1996. Through this performance immense media coverage occurred and 2Pac’s album sales increased 500%. (Brunt, 2015). This is an example of pop culture icons living on after death. Tupac today is immortalized in the music industry partly because he passed away at such a young age, fans have not had to watch him grow and have never had the disappointment of him aging, his image remains the same to his fans who will continue to love and support his music. Because he has been immortalized in the industry and is still highly recognized even after death his legacy has moved on to the next generation with many people born after the year 2000 listening and loving his music.

In comparison to Tupac, Eminem was also big on the rap scene in the 90’s. He did not fit into the stereotypical rapper, especially for the 90’s. As a white male jumping into the rap-scene, he was among the first to make it big in a dense ‘black male’ genre. Today, in 2019, Eminem is still highly regarded as one of the best male rappers to ever live. He has inspired many white artists to pursue a career in rapping. He has achieved both critical and commercial success and has challenged social structures of race in the United States and beyond. Eminem has been on the scene for over 20 years. Through his music and challenging social structures of a genre, a hint of postmodernism has occurred. Postmodernism and popular culture engage with postmodernity as a space for social change and political transformation, this transformation can be seen through Eminem’s work and continuity that has occurred from it.

At 47 years old, Eminem is well past what most artists would call their prime. In 2018, he released his 10th album ‘Kamikaze’. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 434,000 equivalent album units, including 252,000 traditional album sales and a career-high 225.5 million streams (Rolli, 2018). This was the biggest drop in the music industry of 2018. Fans were not expecting an album drop, which therefore escalated sales and streams. Eminem is a living example that age does not defy success rate, he has made his mark in the industry, secured a fanbase and has risen up through generations. It is possible that his sudden resurfacing back into hip hop/rap has helped with album sales as individuals were excited to see something come out from an artist in their memories of ‘the good old days’. Similar to Tupac, a feeling of nostalgia has given Eminem a long-lived career, although he may not be rapping at 60 years, old Eminem has been a part of many generations’ lives, because his music is so greatly remembered, today’s popular culture ageist ideas will barely be present and hardly noticeable. As the audience grows older with the artist, reflection of their work will be enough, new albums won’t be needed as the work is already legendary, loved and valued, it gives people something to reminisce, a realization will occur that everyone grows old you can’t escape the inevitable.

Britney Spears differs from both these artists. Britney Spears was one of the top female pop artists of the early 2000’s. Spears relies heavily on social media to stay relevant with postings on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, combined with comments on her webpage, BritneySpears.com. Through this interaction it seems to be that she hopes to spread her brand and ‘get with the times’, however it’s a bit of a fizzle as it does not gain much attention outside of her own publications. Britney’s fan base has declined over the years, and her new music and self have become extremely irrelevant today. This irrelevancy stems from the image that Spears had created of herself during the late 1990’s/early 2000’s. The 2000’s were rather a bland time for music part of the problem was that the musical landscape had grown cluttered. Most of the styles of music and subcultures that have ever existed are still with us, this being part of the reason that fandoms never really change, and if they do shift to another artist/band, etc., its often one in the same. The years 1998-2009 were the peak of Britney Spears, there were frequent top-100 songs and popular video clips, in which her image could be easily portrayed as almost a sex symbol for those times, dancing provocatively, scandalous outfits and inappropriate lyrics.

Going on 37 years old, Britney now has less of a genuine following with many ‘liking’ tweets or posts, ironically because Britney Spears has become a bit of a meme over the years. Her whole aesthetic has been tarnished due to aging as it no longer fits her stance. Footage can even be shown from a couple Las Vegas shows in recent years of Spears dancing around poles, attempting to climb on props and dance seductively. These videos have left many people cringing as the image of past Britney just doesn’t reflect nicely with her whole mother figure she has going on ‘sex sells’ doesn’t seem to be working for her anymore. Britney is a prime example of popular culture’s obsession with youth culture, being rather ageist. Her prime years have led to things such as shows in Vegas and judging on American singing contests, however, many believe this is just because she’s well-known from her prime and people that the public would like to see on the judging panel are actually performing live around the world with continuous Billboard 100 Hits now. Majority of Britney’s audience have grown up with her, grown out of old habits and ideas of aspirations of who they want to become, so the facade of Britney has now become awfully tacky. The music of this artist is old and good to reflect back on if you’re a fan, however it didn’t make as much of a statement or have people as connected to the lyrics, music and overall background that is evident with Tupac or Eminem. The concept of nostalgia is key to many aspects of the 90’s, nostalgia, for better or worse, never went out of fashion, it remains uncannily contemporary, however to be a part of someone’s nostalgia and have true meaning is hard to come by and is something many artists have failed to accomplish.

To conclude, by comparing these three artists we can see that there are nostalgic ties with each person. Popular culture’s obsession with youth culture has led to disappointment of some fans, however the idea that most people within popular culture focus or care more about youth culture isn’t entirely true. Deceased artists can still have great impacts on viewers lives through their lyrics, how they lived their lives and their attitudes. This can be expertly shown through Tupac Shakur. Artists are able to go MIA for years and still come back and have best-selling albums in their 40s. Eminem has proved this. If you have a solid fan base and multiple hits, not a one hit wonder artist, then you can more than likely have a great impact on the popular culture sphere. Although Eminem challenged many social implications on his journey, he is still one of the greatest and well-known rappers of all time I think for being so different yet diverse and true to himself, and his music fans appreciate him and will continue to appreciate his work through the years. Thirdly, artists like Britney Spears show that you can be significant over 5+ years in popular culture’s media, yet still be irrelevant 10-15 years later. Creating a brand for an artist can be one of the hardest things to do, and in Britney’s case has turned out horribly. Her hits are something to look back on, and fans can and will be sad that there is no longer music produced like it used to be by the artist, any new music by the artist won’t be taken seriously or well as too much focus has been put looking back into past success and/or sponsorship deals with companies (which were also result of past success), any attempt to create new content will seem unauthentic.

Popular culture will continue to live on, memories of all celebrities will not. Popular culture’s obsession with youth culture is unrealistic, artists grow old, become uninspired and stop making music, movies, etc. A lot of people accept this and fans can find someone or something else to like as time goes by whilst still reflecting on past artists or fandoms. Artists with large fan bases often financially don’t need to continue their career into old age, and retire earlier than most. This just links with fans having to move on and reflect past work, but not dwell on it too hard. Nostalgia is a widespread structure of feeling in Western modernity, and it always will be moving forward. Fans need to expect the inevitable and learn how to cope or move on from their favorite artists’ work. The notion of an ageist popular culture needs to be removed or at least reconsidered, as for artists or anyone for the matter. If you want to be remembered, do something to make people remember.

Science played a major role in Pi’s survival during his journey. Life of Pi is a book written by Yann Martel which was based on a sixteen-year-old boy by the name of Piscine Molitor Patel. The main themes of this book are belief, science, and religion, telling a story of survival and coming of age. There are few characters whether real or fictional who believe as strongly as Pi does in both science and religion which are two central themes scene throughout the Life of Pi. The belief in both is often seen as conflicting but this was the opposite for Pi, who saw them as complementary to each other. Science played a major role in Pi’s survival which is evident throughout the book such as on the island, using the social hierarchy to his advantage to tame Richard Parker and studying animal behaviour.

Pi’s love for science is first evident in his chosen name. To prevent persons from calling him Piscine; a name which he hated he shortened it to Pi. Pi is used for calculations both in Mathematics and Physics. Science was what saved him from ridicule by his peers. There is a hierarchy in Life of Pi that every animal follows and respects or else they will live “a life of unbearable anarchy.” There are 3 classes: Alpha, omega, and beta. A good example of this hierarchy is the circus trainer versus the lions. Lions are stated to be very territorial and as such the trainer has to enter the ring before the lion and impress it by for example snapping his whip in order to establish himself as the super-alpha male and the lion will accept itself as the omega. Even if he successfully establishes himself as the super-alpha male it is very important, that he maintains that relationship. “Only the trainer better make sure he always remains super alpha. He will pay dearly if he unwittingly slips to beta. Much hostile and aggressive behavior among animals is the expression of social security” (Martel page 54-55). What Pi means by this is that the lion if he feels as if he is the alpha, will exert his dominance aggressively due to having a sense of social insecurity. It is important that the animal in front of you knows where it stands whether a higher or lower class than you. Pi used this same social hierarchy in order to tame Richard Parker, instead of going with any of his plans to kill him, realizing he needed him as a distraction from the fact that he lost his entire family. “I had to tame him.” “A part of me didn’t want Richard Parker to die at all, because if he died, I would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger. “If I still had the will to live, it was thanks to Richard Parker. He kept me from thinking too much about my family and my tragic circumstances” (Page 207). He did eventually succeed in taming him with his nine steps shared unfortunate, unlikely case anyone gets in a similar situation he did. It reached the point where Richard Parker tried to hide his feces from his alpha Pi. Pi saw it as a means of showing respect to him as leaving his feces out in the open would be a sign of “social dominance.” It is important to know the behavior of the animal in order to tame it as gives you an idea of the best way to approach it.

Zoology played a big role in Pi’s survival on the lifeboat. While on the lifeboat he had nothing better to do than study the behaviour of the animals surrounding him. He knew or at least was familiar with the animals he encountered and progressively knew more about them the more he saw or interacted with them. One aspect of Richard Parker Pi’s study was his sleep pattern. Pi described Richard Parker as a “champion sleeper” (page 250). Unlike himself. In adaption to his surroundings, Richard Parker mostly slept underneath the tarpaulin. But sometimes during calm days when the sun was not as harsh or calm nights he would come out. Pi also recognized that tigers would not first attack a shark out of the water with their jaw, but they would instead first attack with their forepaws heavily clobbering their opponent. Pi’s behavior also had to adapt to his surroundings. His sleep pattern was one thing that changed as a product of being lost at sea with his only companion being an unpredictable tiger. He made it clear that the reason he did not sleep more than an hour was not the obvious such as the sea which he got used to, but “It was apprehension and anxiety that roused me” (page 250). With this, he is saying that the fear of the unknown was prohibiting him from getting as much sleep as he needed rather than the sea. His fear of the unknown made him feel uneasy as there was so much that could happen at any moment while sleeping on a lifeboat at sea with an unpredictable tiger. Which he continues to tame on the island.

Pi especially used his knowledge of science to make sure the island was not just another illusion that would soon vanish after a few blinks. Upon arriving on the island and the boat physically touching it he was still reluctant to believe it was more than just an illusion. This is when he begins to conflict with himself to answer a simple question “To judge-and be disappointed-or not to judge” (page 124). This question came up because he did not want to quickly judge and exert energy he could not replenish. In the end, he decided to judge by using his five senses as any good scientist would. He used his eyes to make sure there was nothing dangerous on or around the island. When he was pleased, he stepped in the water and when he didn’t hear anything suspicious, he continued to the island. Even with this was still not convinced. What convinced him finally was his sense of smell. When he smelt the vegetation, he was relieved as he traveled months forced to smell nothing but saltwater. Even with so much evidence that the island was not just an illusion he still had to make sure that the herbage around him was edible. So, he bites into and with that, he finally accepts that the island is real. Soon after spending a couple days on the island he realized something was off about the island and started formulating questions that needed to be answered to maximize his survival. One such question is “Why did Richard Parker sleep in the lifeboat?” At first, he thought that it was that the meerkats were harmless in the day but suddenly at night they became ruthless and killed their opponent with their combined weight. Soon after though, he realized that the meerkats meant no harm, so the question was once again left unanswered. Several more questions popped up when he woke in the middle of the night due to the meerkats’ shaking and he saw dead fish rising to the top of the pond. As a good scientist, he came up with several hypotheses such as Richard Parker may have killed them. Soon enough all his questions were answered when he found teeth in the fruits of a tree. That is when he came up with his final theory that answered all his questions. “The island was carnivorous” (page 355). Science played a major role in his survival on the carnivorous island.

With many facts pointed towards it we can see how science played a major role in Pi’s survival on the island, and on the boat by using the social hierarchy to his advantage to tame Richard Parker and study animal behavior. Pi used all his senses the most while on the island in order to maximize his chance of surviving and on the boat he used what he learned at the zoo with a combination of zoology to survive on the boat. What do you think Pi would have done if Richard Parker came to the boat five minutes late or not at all? And what do think would have been the consequences of his decision?

The movie ‘Smoke Signals’ tells the story of relationships between two main characters Victor Joseph and his friend Thomas. Thomas has a special relationship with victor’s father, Arnold, who accidently killed his parents, but saved him from burning house. And this was the main reason why Thomas saw Arnold as father and idealized him. However, Victor’s father drank and Victor did not like it and this was the main reason why Arnold left the family and lived in another city. Victor hasn’t seen his father in over 10 years And when Arnold dies in Arizona, phoenix Thomas and victor travel together from Idaho to Arizona to retrieve victor’s father ashes. During the movie it can be understood that the two main characters are opposite to each other but at the same time complement each other and still be friends. Victor is always serious and a little aggressive, and Thomas is always talkative and cannot do without jokes. When Victor and his friend come to Arizona, stay overnight in house of Arnold’s companion in the last years of his life, which was a very good moment for Susie (his father’s companion) to explain what really happened on that fateful day, how the fire happened and the guilt that his father felt all his life then.

Susie said that Arnold had always lived with thoughts of home and his family and how he couldn’t dare come back home. Also, after these words stunned Viktor enters in trailer in which lived and died his father, he claims some valuable things and sees in purse of Arnold a picture of their family and signed as ‘house’, that proves Suzy’s words. Victor and Thomas are coming back in Arnold’s car. The events of recent days have turned Victor’s soul upside down, and he has a hard time controlling himself. He and Thomas are arguing: Thomas’s nerves are finally losing his temper, and he accuses Victor of wasting his life by wandering around on a reservation and upset his mother, who is already having trouble after leaving Arnold. During a quarrel, friends almost crash into a car standing across the road. At the last moment, Victor turns the steering wheel, and they move out into the ditch. There they see a woman lying unconscious and a friend and her husband bustling around her; Victor volunteers to bring help.

In response, the man only hopelessly waves his hand: the nearest city is too far away, the girl cannot survive. Victor immediately runs to the city for help. In the morning, when he falls exhausted, a road worker finds him and helps him up. Victor and the injured girl are in the same hospital. Her friend thanks the guys for their help and warns them that her husband is going to blame them for the accident. Reasoning that they better not wait for the police to arrive, Thomas and Victor make their way to the exit, but the policeman is already on duty at the hospital door. In the precinct, Thomas confusedly explains what happened. After listening to the statement of the driver of the car that Victor crashed into them, being drunk, Victor swears that he never drank alcohol. The head of the police station releases Viktor and Thomas, as their words are confirmed by the testimony of the driver’s wife, which refers to the bad behavior of her husband. On the reservation, Victor apologizes to Thomas for being unfair to him and gives part of his father’s ashes as a souvenir. Standing on the bridge with an urn in his hands and looking at the stormy river below, Victor mentally says goodbye to his father and lets go of the past. He pours the ashes into the water and screams, getting rid of pain and longing. Maturity began for him.

This movie ‘Smoke Signals’ shows that a person does not become an adult just because you have become older in age, but the situation that can happen in your life and turn it over will be the beginning of the adult life of a person as he will look at life differently and see all sides of his decision that he takes.

Introduction to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Its Coming-of-Age Theme

Shot in black and white, this movie is a beautiful visual. To Kill a Mockingbird is a masterpiece everybody should see. Not only is To Kill a Mockingbird an essential film in American cinema, but it also helps show the impact film can have on society and its’ views. To kill a Mockingbird shows a coming-of-age story, one that works against the gender roles of time and reflects the true evils shown in society.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) is based on Harper Lee’s award-winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Told through the eyes of Scout, a six-year-old tomboy growing up in the small racially divided town of Maycomb, Alabama. Playing in the summer as an innocent child, playing with her brother Jem and her friend Dill. They would tell each other made-up stories about their mysterious neighbor, “Boo Radley”. Until their town is divided by the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Although many of Maycomb’s citizens disapprove, Scout’s father, Atticus, is appointed to and agrees to defend Tom Robinson. Through this journey, Scout learns and sees the truth of rivalry and racism.

This movie is a prime example of a coming-of-age storyline. However, this isn’t just Scout’s coming-of-age story, even though she is the main character. It also serves as her brother Jem’s and her friend Dills too. As the movie continues, Scout learns to mature and act more grown up. She also has the chance to see others around her, for who they really are. She sees the harsh nature of human beings (rude, biased, and unfair). Jem and Scout learn about the importance of empathy, civil rights, and other important lessons that Atticus and Calpurnia thought them. Showing that the real villains are racism, ignorance, and violence.

Scout’s Journey: From Innocence to Understanding

To kill a mockingbird does an excellent job showing the journey and process of maturation. As Jem and Scout become more exposed to the coexistence of good and evil in their town, they lose their innocence and gain new perspectives on the unfairness and cruelty of the world around them. To Kill a Mockingbird showed the process of their maturation of moral values rather than just telling the audience. For example, at the jailhouse scene, Atticus is waiting outside the jailhouse reading when the three children come along. Shortly after, a mob of angry townsmen crowds around Atticus trying to get to Tom Robinson. When Atticus tells the children to leave, Jem senses the danger and reality of the situation. Jem and the rest refuse to follow Atticus’s orders. Although they deliberately disobey their father, they do it maturely. They choose to stay for the concern of their father’s safety rather than, out of the sheer cause for rebellion. By choosing to confront the hatred (to his father’s dismay) Jem shows his maturity and transition from boy to man.

However, many critics argue that the book serves as a better version of this story. They argue that this movie only serves as a small portion of the much larger story. In fact, in James Powers’ review of the movie he said, “While this central incident dominates the story, it does not occupy the greatest time, and is actually only a smallish part of the whole story” (“’To Kill a Mockingbird’: THR’s 1962 Review”). This is true, the movie heavily focuses on the trial of Tom Robinson, even though there are other aspects within the original book.

This is a good argument, however, the movie contains most, if not all, of the important plot devices covered in the book. This is important in order to make a good film and to have it as closely accurate to the book as possible. Although many parts of the book that cover the more southern life aspect of the book are not covered, the main storyline and lessons are shown throughout the movie.

Although I do agree with many people’s arguments, to a degree. I think if the movie showed more parts and characters from the book, it would’ve helped with adding to the movie experience. For example, one major character from the book was Calpurnia. Calpurnia was the family friend of Atticus and the children; she was also a woman of color. She played the mother role in Jem and Scout’s life since they didn’t have a mother. She taught Scout lessons of empathy and played as Atticus’ second when raising the children.

Jem and Dill’s Maturation and Lessons Learned

In addition, in the original book, Calpurnia brought the children to an all-colored church, which would’ve made an excellent scene within the film. In the book, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to an all-colored person’s church. In this experience, they see what happens in a colored church, versus what they do in their all-white church. The original book writes, “Jem and I had heard the same sermon Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, with only one exception. Reverend Sykes used his pulpit more freedom to express his views…” (Lee, 162). The ceremony in itself was very similar to their church. The teachings of the bible and sin were similar.

However, they also saw how poor the church was in comparison to their church. The church had significantly fewer funds, which led to them not having many material things. “There was no sign of piano, organ, hymn books, church programs, the familiar ecclesiastical impedimenta we saw every Sunday. It was dim inside, with a damp coolness slowly dispelled by the gathering congregation” (Lee,159). Jem and Scout got to see the class differences between the wealthy and the poor. This would’ve made a great scene for giving further insight into how Jem and Scout grew to understand empathy and the true differences between the two classes.

Scout’s Gender Nonconformity and Feminist Themes

In addition to the differences in class, To Kill a Mockingbird works against the stereotypes and norms of gender and the sexes. In the 1930s (the time period the film takes place), women in society were constrained and heavily repressed. In the film, Scout is a major tomboy. Which, at the time is majorly frowned on. Scout dresses in overalls as opposed to the normal dress attire of the time. Scout plays with two boys, Jem and Dill. Scout gets into fights with boys. Scout often resists the notation that women are property and that she can do anything Jem and Scout can do.

Scout’s individuality can be seen as an inspiration in today’s world. As the Fight for women’s rights and feminism moves on today. Not only as a physical and political movement but a movement into culture and film as well. Scout is seen as different and as an individual in this movie. She doesn’t conform to the normal standards of “what a girl should be”.

Scout stands out as her own person. Scout unknowingly contributes to feminist theory. Feminist Theory, as Vicki Callahan states, “… almost exclusively engaged with the opposition of femininity and masculinity…” (109). Or in other words, Feminist Theory is concerned and engaged with the arguments and ideas of what traditional ideas of femininity and masculinity should be. Scout doesn’t care about the traditional idea of being feminine, she just does and acts the way she wants to. Atticus allows Scout to be her own person, rather than forcing her to conform to societal norms. With the support of her father, Scout crosses the line between being masculine and being feminine. Although Scouts, nonconformity to the norm plays little to no part in the film, it still can hold a major message to the audience. Which is the message of independence and individuality.

The Impact of the Tom Robinson Trial on the Children

Another message To Kill a Mockingbird portrays is the evils of racism and ignorance. The major incident of racism in the film was the trial of Tom Robinson. The trial is on his alleged assault and rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson is falsely framed and is innocent, but is easily framed because of the color of his skin. There is no evidence remotely pointing to Tom Robinson committing the crime. In fact, there was a plethora of evidence showcasing that he could not have committed the crime. For example, one of Tom’s hands does not work because he got it caught in a machine as a kid. Even though Mayella provides no proof, the town believes her. Leaving Tom Robinson to face the backlash and hate from the community and court.

Ultimately, Atticus loses the case and Tom Robinson is found guilty and later lynched. This is an unfair outcome, showing that in the film the right to a fair trial is reserved for the white. While the court and justice systems are corrupted and plagued with discrimination against all others. Breaking down all chances for social progress and justice.

This discrimination can often be seen in today’s justice and court systems. According to scholars Larry Siegal and John Worrall, Black and Latino adults are less likely than White adults to receive bail for a crime. Also, that unemployed and indigent African Americans often receive longer prison sentences. Rather than their unemployed white counterparts who’ve committed the same crimes (41). Many racial differences are reflected in the criminal justice system. Which may be held in part by the internalized bias of either the police, courts, or correctional institutions. This bias is shown in the film as well as in the real justice systems of today.

To kill a mockingbird addresses as many controversial issues. Leaving many to argue about how appropriate the film is. Many believe that books and movies should be banned. They believe that its use of strong language discussion of sexuality and rape and the use of the N-word, should not be allowed or tolerated. Many parents want the film banned. Prohibiting most of its young audiences to see.

However, James LaRue argues that “The whole part of classics is to challenge the way we think about things”. Which I completely agree with. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic, and the whole point of these classics is to challenge your thinking and convey messages to its audiences. Which is exactly what this film does. It challenges your moral sense through the physical scenes and trial sequence of Tom Robinson. To Kill a Mockingbird can fuel discussions and conversations about racial tolerance and the hardships racism brings.

To add on, many films such as To Kill a Mockingbird have shown a light on these racial issues and have even helped fuel the civil rights movement. As author Ellen Scotts proclaims, “…Black audiences instead actively interpreted Hollywood films, seeking signs of truths and illumination among the shrouded symbols of Black civil rights abuses” (147). Movies often reflect on the problems and truths of the real world. This was clear for Civil rights activists of many kinds but primarily true for the colored. Cinema’s representations of issues such as segregation, racial violence, and lynching were used as the feed for many arguments. Cinemas’ meanings were cloudy as opposed to many other areas of their struggles which were crystal clear. The interpretation of film was the basis for their activism (Scotts,147). For example, the interpretation of To Kill a Mockingbird could be seen as the problem of racial bias in the justice system. Which would then become the forefront of their argument.

Many could see this as far-fetched. However, the film often reflects the problems of modern-day in itself. I would argue that this method of claiming was very intelligent.

Conclusion: The Enduring Relevance of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird

In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird was a revolutionary film. To Kill a Mockingbird gave many different and new perspectives on multiple issues that were unheard of for its time. It showed a female crossing between the lines of masculinity and femininity, propelling the ideas of feminist theories. It gave new racial insights and perspectives while reflecting on the problems of society. A problem that sadly still exists today. All these issues and perspectives were told through the eyes of a six-year-old Scout, learning empathy and maturing throughout the case of an innocent man.

Sources page

Film:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird

Books:

1. Foote, Horton, and Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird. Script City, 1964.
2. Callahan, Vicki. Reclaiming the Archive Feminism and Film History. Wayne State University Press, 2010.
3. Scott, Ellen C. Cinema Civil Rights : Regulation, Repression, and Race in the Classical Hollywood Era. Rutgers University Press, 2015.
4. Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. Essentials of Criminal Justice. 10th ed., Cengage, 2019.

Websites and film reviews:

1. “’To Kill a Mockingbird’: THR’s 1962 Review.” The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kill-a-mockingbird-1962-film-867767
2. Little, Becky. “Why ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Keeps Getting Banned.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/news/why-to-kill-a-mockingbird-keeps-getting-banned.

Stephen Chbosky, the director of the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Becky Albertalli, the author of Love Simon teaches the audience the process of coming of age. Chbosky’s film follows Charlie’s journey as he enters his first year of high school and encounters his first experiences with relationships, drugs and alcohol, bullying, and love while also discovering his sexuality. In a similar way, Albert al li’s novel follows sixteen-year-old Simon through all his high school struggles, particularly as he is gay. Both texts include the ideas of relationships, sexuality, school, and love through the employment of many techniques such as characterization, imagery, color, sound, and dialogue.

Albertalli’s novel and Chbosky’s film both convey experiences that occur during school, such as being exposed to alcohol and drugs for the first time. Chbosky highlights every aspect of high school life, especially for those who are introverted. Charlie struggles with social skills as Michael, his former best friend, committed suicide. This led to Charlie not leaving the house all summer, so as his first day of high school approaches, he struggles to make friends. After a few weeks, he meets Patrick and Sam who become his first friends at his new high school. Patrick begins to expose Charlie to the world of girls, drugs, and alcohol. Albertalli symbolizes the coming of age process by displaying alcohol and drugs in her novel Love Simon. Simon clearly displays himself as someone who is not interested in alcohol. As Simon attends his first party where alcohol is present, he feels immediately isolated. He is offered a beer and feels obligated to take it as he narrates, “My heart is doing some noticeable thumping” (Page 43) The presence of alcohol straightaway marks that Simon is coming of age as this is contrasting with Simon’s typical parties with games and junk food. Similarly, in Chbosky’s film, Charlie was offered a brownie that included illicit drugs, and he begins to say bizarre sayings. Sam then asks” So I’m guessing you’ve never been high before?” (22.21) explaining that is new to the idea of drugs as this is his first time being placed in this environment. Simon in Albert al li’s novel feels discomfort being present at this party, also how he dislikes the beer emphasizes his discomfort with the changes he’s undergoing as he comes of age. Simon continues to drink the beer even though he despises the taste as he feels pressured to do the actions that his peers are partaking in. Bullying is also an aspect that is covered throughout both texts. Bullying is a well-known issue in today’s society, especially relating to those who suffer from mental illnesses and to those who are homosexual. During both these scenes when alcohol and drugs are present, the setting appeared to be very dark and dull, creating a very dramatic setting and showing that the character has reached a dark time in their life. Charlie clearly displays that he has a mental health issue as he struggles to find happiness throughout the film Chbosky emphasizes the physical and mental harm that is caused by bullying. In the scene where Patrick is punched by Brad in front of the cafeteria as he attempts to reveal their relationship, Patrick then reveals how unhappy he is with Charlie. Charlie also becomes isolated from the group when he kisses his crush Sam even though she has a boyfriend, this causes him to spiral back into depression and escalates the visions he has of his traumatic past. Albertalli’s novel also features aspects of bullying, present when Simon was bullied and discriminated against for his sexuality “White shouldn’t be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn’t even be a default.’ (pg. 269). Simon thinks it’s unfair that certain races or sexualities are the default. School is a major setting in both Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film to convey the idea of coming of age.

Sexuality is a reoccurring theme in Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film, especially Love Simon where the protagonists develop sexuality during the story. Simon, from Albertalli’s text, is gay but is too afraid to come out and has kept it a very well-hidden secret for an extended period of time. Chbosky’s film explores various aspects of love relationships, which include both homosexual and heterosexual. These two aspects are issues that teenagers deal with during their transition to adulthood. This is shown during the movie when Charlie walks in on Patrick kissing a person of the same gender (23.21). Charlie doesn’t know how to respond as he has never been placed in this situation before. Albertalli’s text mainly focuses on homosexual relationships with Blue and Simon, “Being secure in your masculinity isn’t the same as being straight.” (p 65). Whereas, Chbosky shows how Charlie struggles to deal with his love for Sam. Charlie tries to distinguish between love for her as a friend or as a romance. As Charlie explores these types of love, it helps to display the challenges that relationships can have. Albertalli reveals through the novel the struggles Simon has, which is that he is hesitant to come out as gay to his family as they battle to adapt to change even though it’s an expected part of growing through adolescence. After many exchanges of messages to Blue, Simon begins to understand himself making him more confident “I guess I didn’t really think of myself as interesting until I was interesting to Blue.” (pg. 19). Similarly, in Chbosky’s film, Charlie and Sam begin a romantic journey together. Chbosky presents their relationship during the scene where Charlie and Sam together perform “Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. During this scene, Sam plays the character “Janet”, who presents very flirtatious actions, however, Charlie is quite clueless on how to react to Sam’s sexual energy, due to his personality being so introverted. This scene helps demonstrate Charlie’s dilemma with Sam throughout the film. Sexuality is a major theme in both Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film which successfully conveys the idea of coming of age.

Relationships are a major theme throughout both texts. Characterization is a technique that tells the audience about the character which is relevant to the storyline. Chbosky created Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower to show the characteristic of shyness and is socially awkward as he enters his first year of high school, making it difficult to make friends or have a connection with anybody. On Charlie’s first day of school, he was friendless and lost all social skills after not socializing with anyone over the summer break due to his friend committing suicide. This is similar to the situation in Albertalli’s text. Simon immediately insists he has several best friends- Leah, Nick, and Abby. While he has known them for years, he knows little about their life outside of their friendship. He thinks that they don’t need to connect on a deeper emotional level as he struggles to express his feelings. Comparing the major characters in Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film, they both are socially awkward and struggle to understand their friends, but most importantly themselves. Charlie in Chbosky’s text, the first relationship occurs at a high school football game, where he meets Sam and his stepbrother Patrick. The trio began to become closer at a high school party where they toast Charlie to welcome him as their new friend. Charlie appears as if he is about to cry as for the first time, he feels as if he belongs somewhere as he said, “I didn’t think anyone noticed me” (25:20). This contrasts with Albertalli’s text where Simon builds a strong intimate email-based relationship with another gay student as his high school who is also closeted and sends him messages anonymously. It all began with Blue posting on an anonymous social media app that he is gay, Simon immediately messages him saying he knows exactly how Blue feels. While Simon doesn’t know who Blue is, he builds a strong connection with him, as he becomes very trusting of him, feeling like he has a sense of belonging. The theme of relationships is a major aspect of Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film to convey the idea of coming of age.

Albertalli’s novel and Chbosky’s film both focus on the theme of love and the situation arising from the relationships turn into experiences of love. Characterization is present in Chbosky’s film which was developed throughout the entire film. This technique allows the reader to view the different love relationships that become formed throughout the film with Charlie and his friends. This shows their personalities and how Charlie interacts with each of them individually. Albertalli has constructed her novel so each chapter switches between the story narrative and emails to and from Simon and Blue; keeping the audience engaged. This shows how their relationship and love are developing for each other. The majority of the story is told in the first person, in the present tense, by Simon. His narrative voice is defined by the character, his perspective as well as the situation. The text written in first person shows his love for Blue from his perspective. However, Chbosky’s film focuses on Charlie, the main character as he enters high school for the first year and all the struggles that he may encounter. Using the first-person narrator helps to develop inner thoughts and emotions; making this effective as it adds extra details to the story. An example can be seen through Charlie and Sam. With the use of the first-person model, the audience can see from Charlie’s perspective how socially awkward Charlie is. He begins to feel emotions toward Sam “I would really like to ask Sam on a date someday. I really would” Charlie shows genuine emotion towards Sam throughout the novel, expressing realism. As Simon in Albertalli’s novel is a closed-off, introverted person, he struggles to find someone to trust, however, Blue allows him to open up and be more himself. “There’s something about you that makes me want to open up, and that’s slightly terrifying for me” (pg. 61). Similarly, in Chbosky’s film, Charlie is very introverted until he meets Patrick and Sam. Charlie later opens up to Sam saying, “I love you too” (49:00). This is his first time expressing his feelings and his characterization has developed greatly throughout the film. The theme of love is developed through the technique of characterization in Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film to successfully convey the idea of coming of age.

Albertalli’s novel, Love Simon, and Chomsky’s film Perks of Being a Wallflower both explore the idea of coming of age well through the use of themes of school, relationships, sexuality, and love. The setting of the school is very comparable in both texts as each author used the idea of alcohol and drugs to show the coming of age-process once the characters become exposed to new environments. The main characters in Albertalli’s novel, Simon, and Chomsky’s film, Charlie, both struggle to create and maintain relationships with both genders due to their personality traits of being socially awkward. Sexuality is a major theme explored through both texts as the two authors explore homosexuality and heterosexuality. Love is another frequently reoccurring theme that occurs in both Albert al li’s novel and Chbosky’s film seen clearly in their main characters. Overall, both texts illustrate the process of coming of age very well in similar ways as well as contrasting ways.

During 1930s America, and 1960s Australia, African-Americans and Aboriginals are highly excluded and thought very low in all societies. In the film and novel, the characters question their conventional thinking of what is right and wrong as they navigate small-town morality, racism, and hypocrisy. Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (TKAM), and Rachel Perkins’ film adaptions of Craig Silvey’s novel, Jasper Jones (JJ) both explore youthful characters who experience loss of innocence and subsequently growth in maturity as they become more cynical and conscious of the strengths and weaknesses evident in individuals and societies.

In both texts, loss of innocence is demonstrated through youthful characters who become more aware of the societies beliefs when they are faced with adult-like experiences. In TKAM, Lee uses the youthful character, Scout Finch when she discovers the truth about Arthur Radley. At the start of the novel, Scout was naïve and had a childlike nature. Arthur was presented as a supernatural and mysterious character who was majorly misunderstood by Scout. However, after losing innocence, she becomes more cynical about him stating, “Well, it’d be sort of like shooting’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (pg 304). Knowing that Arthur represents a mockingbird and was a benevolent person, she lost her innocence as her behavior towards Arthur was majorly reflected in society. Due to this, she was beginning to learn about the unbending prejudice of people in Maycomb which was reflected in her own actions and behaviors toward people who didn’t meet expectations. Similarly, in JJ, Silvey highlights the loss of innocence through the character of Charlie Bucktin. Corrigan society’s strong perspective of people who don’t meet the norm has influenced Charlie’s opinion of right and wrong. Charlie was commencing to discover prejudice that existed within the community. In that one night – and then the days that follow – Charlie is forced to step away from childhood innocence and see the world around him for what it is. He loses his innocence when Jasper is falsely blamed for the murder of Laura due to the fact that he was different. He always thought that Corrigan consisted of the best people until he was experiencing adult-like circumstances. Both authors have demonstrated loss of innocence through young and coming-of-age characters whose beliefs and visions were reflected by society.

Through extraordinary circumstances, adolescent characters represent the theme of coming-of-age in both TKAM and JJ. Coming-of-age is a young person’s transition from being a child to being an adult. In TKAM, Scout is an open-minded girl whose opinions are based on society’s beliefs. Scout represents coming of age because she is showing maturity and growth in her character stating, ‘I drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped my fists and walked away… It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight” (pg 85). Although Scout falls into her old ways soon after this incident, she realizes her failure in obeying Atticus. She demonstrates a certain maturity in trying to keep her father from more stress about the Tom Robinson case. As a result of this incident, she questions and notices the strengths and weaknesses of individuals which is a major contribution to her coming of age. Concurrently, in JJ, a Bildungsroman film, grappling with the world’s evident immorality is the factor of Charlie’s coming of age. There is gradual progress in moral understanding that Charlie endures as he observes the world of adulthood. Charlie faces harsh realities when he uncovers the truth about his mother he had previously thought highly of. Another aspect of Charlie’s coming of age is finding his drunk mother around another man, who leaves him when confronted which forced him to realize his reality was not as it seemed. His mother leaving made him more independent and caused him to form a better relationship with his dad. Through Charlie’s journey in the text, he begins to realize that ordinary people are capable of doing horrible things. Both authors have represented coming of age in youthful characters who are majorly influenced by society’s beliefs and values.

Adult-like experiences have resulted in a growth in courage and maturity in characters who are coming of age. In TKAM, Jem Finch during the story progresses to discover the meaning of true courage. A factor of this development is his little understanding of the world and assumed the truth by what he saw and told. However, when he saw something wrong in front of the jailhouse, he steps up to protect his father Atticus who is seen in danger stating, “’ Son, I said go home.’ Jem shook his head” (pg.168). Symbolically, this scene marks Jem’s transition from boy to man, as he stands beside Atticus and refuses to “go home,” since only a child would do. Though he disobeys his father, he does so not sullenly but maturely. Due to his loss of innocence, he becomes a strong and mature character which leads to growth in courage. At the same time, in JJ, Charlie is a timid boy who deals with unexpected circumstances which allow him to develop into a more courageous and mature man. Throughout the film, he accepts that he’ll always be afraid of the thing that frightens him and that his fears allow him to be brave. In a conversation with Jeffery, Charlie makes a comment about Batman and Superman. He argues that although Superman is stronger, and faster, Batman’s lack of superpowers actually makes him more powerful. As a result, Batman has to learn to accept his fears and weaknesses, overcoming them to protect people. Knowing this, Charlie steps out of his comfort zone to fight for what is correct which represents the theme of fear of the unknown as his viewpoints were influenced by the societies. He also grows courage by the end of the novel, something he laments about lacking in the beginning.

Introduction to Characters and Setting

The book I chose to do for this Coming of Age presentation is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Now, I know we all have read to kill a Mockingbird and you all know the story of each character, the literary devices, and the themes as well. We also talked about the coming-of-age aspects as well. Now I am here to elaborate on that and refresh your memory of the conflicts, character relationships, and setting. Using these elements, I will tell you how it developed the main protagonist.

Now let us talk a little bit about character development and break it down. Now, in this case, we talk about character development as the change a character undergoes through the course of the story. The change they undergo results from the various conflicts they would encounter throughout the story.

Let us introduce some of the characters of this book, the main protagonist of this book is Jean Louise (or Scout) Finch. She lives with her father, Atticus, and her brother, Jeremy Atticus (or Jem) Finch, in the town of Maycomb, Alabama.

Scout is a very intelligent and curious young girl and always manages to connect events and make logical conclusions. Yet, she is seen to be a “tomboy” and intimidates the boys at her school because of her physical strength. She solves problems with fistfights and catching kids, beating them is a joy to her, and she is not afraid to get her hands dirty in a fight.

Jeremy Atticus (or Jem) Finch, is the 10-year-old brother of Scout Finch. Jem is seen to be a brave, curious, and kind-hearted person at the start of the book. He is always watching out for his sister and whenever she gets into an argument or fight, he is there to break it up and resolve it. His curiosity is shown through his interest in Boo Radley, who is shy and known to be a dangerous man who is never seen. His bravery is shown when he is dared to run up to the Radley House, touch the side, and run back to Scout and their friend Dill.

Atticus Finch is the father of Jem and Scout. He is a lawyer in the town of Maycomb and is one of the few people that is a supporter of racial equality. He is a very wise man who has lived life with morality and justice and passes that on to his children. Atticus Finch is a man of integrity and empathy. He always does the right thing even if it may make him unpopular with others. His choice of defending Tom Robinson, a black man who was accused of raping a white woman proves his integrity.

Some other minor characters in this book include Calpurnia, a black housekeeper, and nanny who has been with them since Jem was born. There is also Charles Baker “Dill” Harris who is the friend and summer neighbor of Jem and Scout. He is a very small yet energetic and confident boy. He is another representation of the childhood innocence that occurs in this book. As mentioned before Tom Robinson is the black man that is accused of raping a white woman and the client of Atticus Finch. He portrays the symbol of innocence. Arthur “Boo” Radley is a very independent and shy man who never leaves his house. He is an underrated person by all the other characters but has a very powerful effect on the kids, Scout, Jem, and Dill. Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell is a drunk who is a part of the poorest family in all of Maycomb. He is a very dark man and the evil of this book is filled with racial hate. Mayella Ewell is the daughter of Bob Ewell; she is a very lonely and unhappy person and a white woman who was essentially “raped” by Tom Robinson.

The setting of to kill a mockingbird takes place in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb was a very old town and was also said to be Farm County because of all the farmers who live there. One important place that affects the kid’s perspective is the Radley House where Boo Radley lives. The Radley House is a mysterious place that nobody dares to walk near, “A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night; he would cut across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked. The Maycomb school grounds adjoined the back of the Radley lot; from the Radley chicken yard, tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by the children: Radley pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked.”(pg.11) People are frightened by this place and don’t dare to venture near it but kids like Jem, Scout, and Dill are curious and brave and want to know what lies within. Scout’s opinion fully changes and becomes permanent when she and her brother are rescued by Boo Radley from Bob Ewell. Radley escorted Scout down the sidewalk to his place and they reached the front of his door on the porch. Boo went inside and Scout never saw him again. Instead of looking inside the house over what has intrigued the kids for so long, Scout does not and looks at the neighborhood from an angle she has never seen before and has a vision. After reflecting on the past few years and the seasons as they went by with the events that occurred and changed them she says, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (pg.374) she is picturing herself in Boo Radley’s shoes and imagining all the events that he must have seen over the past seasons. Scout sees the Radley house as a living house and not a dead one.

Character Development and Growth

At the beginning of the story, Scout Finch starts out as a five, almost six-year-old girl, who is very innocent because she has not realized the world’s values, and is very self-centered like many young children. One of Scout’s very first life lessons is taught by her father, Atticus, “First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-” “Sir?” “-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This advice helps Scout that before judging somebody and reacting over it, she should put herself in their shoes and think about their situation. Scout takes his advice into effect and develops her progress effectively. In Chapter 7, Scout says, “I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it…So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him” (pg.77) Scout understands the situation and decides to leave Jem alone after he returns from the Radley House.

Learning from Relationships and Encounters

Scout develops and changes her attitude toward many different things over the course of this story. Some of those changes occur with Miss Maudie Atkinson, who is the woman who lives alone across the street from the Finch family. Near the start of the book, Scout describes Boo Radley as a malevolent phantom and a dangerous man that creeps around at night. However, as Scout becomes closer to Miss Maudie, she develops a more sympathetic understanding of Boo Radley when talking to her one evening on her porch. Scout starts to learn the truth about Boo Radley when Miss Maudie talks about the past, “’ No child,’ she said, ‘that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how.’”(pg.61) this is the first event where Scout’s opinion on Boo Radley changes and she starts to feel sympathetic for Boo. Scout also learns about strength and courage from Miss Maudie in Chapter 8. At first, Scout does not know how to control herself as she gets into constant fights with people such as Walter Cunningham Jr., Aunt Alexandra’s grandson; Francis, and Jem most of the time. In Chapter 8, Ms. Maudie’s house burns down but she does not seem to grieve for it. “’ You ain’t grieving, Miss Maudie?’…Atticus said her house was nearly all she had. ’Grieving, child? Why I hated that old cow barn. Thought of setting 4 fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock me up.’” “With most of her possessions gone and her beloved yard a shambles, she still took a lively and cordial interest in Jem’s and my affairs.” This is where Scout understands how to control herself in stressful or frustrating situations and be courageous no matter the outcome even in the worst situations like this one.

Another person to develop changes for Scout is Aunt Alexandra. As mentioned in Scout’s personality, Scout is a tomboy who dresses differently than young women and wears overalls. She also acts wild with her brother Jem and Dill. Aunt Alexandra teaches Scout about acting the way she should. She is not happy about Scout wearing overalls and that she should wear dresses all the time. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breaches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.”(pg.108) Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to follow her example and become a proper woman but those plans do not settle with Scout because that is not how she was raised. In Chapter 12, when Scout and Jem go to church with Calpurnia, Scout wears a dress. Therefore, she only wears a dress to church, as it seems, and not for anything else. However, in Chapter 24, she wears her pink Sunday dress for the tea party that Aunt Alexandra hosts. “Aunt Alexandra looked across the room at me and smiled…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.”(pg.318) Scout is on her way to becoming a woman by learning about manners and respect.

Understanding Racism and Equality

Scout is also changing her views on racism in the town of Maycomb and in the world. The wise and respectful man Atticus Finch is, he has told Scout to view everybody equally no matter who they are. Scout has not yet been exposed to the racism that occurs in their community. As the story progresses, Scout is exposed to racism, and the first time with the students at her school. A kid named Cecil Jacobs was the main cause of this. “He had announced in the schoolyard the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers. I denied it, but told Jem.”(pg.99) Kids such as Cecil Jacobs are influenced by the opinions of their parents. Scout does not know what “defending niggers” is and is oblivious to what happens in the community. In Chapter 11, Scout and Jem walk by Mrs. Dubose’s house and she keeps yelling at Scout. “’ What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!’…’Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!’…’ yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising?’…’ your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’”(pg.135) everybody is against the Finch family because they are defending Tom Robinson. The amount of insults and attacks that Scout, Jem, and Atticus get every day shows how deep of a problem racism is in Maycomb. The trial of Tom Robinson let Scout get her full opinion on the racism that occurs in the town of Maycomb. After the trial in Chapter 25, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.”(pg.323). Scout demonstrates her maturity and understanding of race relations by understanding the meaning behind Mr. Underwood’s (who is the owner of the local newspaper) editorial. Scout learns that not everyone treats blacks as equal to whites and that people cloud their judgment through racism, and do not see the real problem.

Symbolism of the Mockingbird and Conclusion

The mockingbird is the last and one of the biggest symbols in this book that leads to Scout’s maturity. In Chapter 10 of this book when they were speaking about air rifles. Atticus says, “Shoot all the blue jays you want if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”(pg.119). “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”(pg.119). Scout comes to realize the meaning of this at the end of chapter 30 when Atticus and the Sheriff are discussing what to do with Boo Radley after he kills Bob Ewell. “’ Taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways in the limelight – to me, that’s a sin.’…’Yes, sir, I understand,’ I reassured him. ‘Mr. Tate was right’…Atticus looked at me, ’What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”(pg 369-370) Scout applies the lesson she learned earlier from Atticus and understands that Boo Radley is an innocent and defenseless person, and does not deserve to be hurt or abused by others.

Jean Louise “Scout” Finch becomes a mature young woman by the end of this book and comes to be a part of the Maycomb community along with Jem and her father Atticus by her side. By the end of the book, Scout teaches us the importance of seeing things from the point of view of others.

Coming of Age in Mississippi is a book written by Anne Moody that details her life as a black woman in rural Mississippi during the mid-20th century. It encompasses Moody’s life from her childhood to her mid 20’s, the most impactful and important part being her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement which began while she was a student at Tougaloo College had been known to be predominantly black. The autobiography also addresses her struggles with racism among white people, along with the sexism she encountered from her allied civil rights advocates.

Essie May Moodie, who would become Anne Moody, was born on September 15th, 1940, outside of Centreville, Mississippi. Born to two young sharecroppers and the oldest of many of her siblings, Moody was burdened with a heavy sense of responsibility at a young age and in turn, was forced to mature very quickly. She graduated in 1959 and received a scholarship to play basketball at Natchez Junior College. She ended up transferring to Tougaloo College. She engaged in the Civil Rights Movement early, helping to create and organize the Congress of Racial Equality. She also participated in a Woolworth’s sit-in on May 28th, 1963. (Where blacks would sit at the white portion of a restaurant and ask for service, and stay even when it was refused). Shortly after graduating from Tougaloo College, she moved to Ithaca, New York. She became a project coordinator for Cornell University. She left Cornell and moved to New York City in 1968 and began writing Coming of Age in Mississippi. She met and married Austin Straus, and had one son with him, Sascha Straus. She was diagnosed and struggled with dementia. She died in her home in Gloster Mississippi on February 5th, 2015 at age 74.

Moody begins the story on the plantation where she and her Mother, Too sweet, and her father, Diddly, who are both sharecroppers, and her younger sister, Adeline live. Later, Moody’s mother gives birth to another child, Jr. while Too sweet is pregnant with Jr., her father engages in an affair with another woman on the plantation. Shortly after Jr.’s birth, her parents separated.

Moody moves with her mother and younger siblings to town to live with her great aunt and begins her schooling. Moody’s curiosity about race begins when she asks questions about her two uncles appearing white, which are unanswered. Her mother starts a relationship with a man named Raymond, who she eventually marries and has five more children with.

When she turns nine, Moody begins her first job sweeping a porch, where she earns seventy-five cents an hour alongside two gallons of milk. She begins a sibling rivalry with Raymond’s sister Darlene; she and Moody are the same age and in the same class, endlessly competing whenever the opportunity arises.

Moody attends Church at Centreville, the same one Raymond’s family attends, but she is eventually tricked into attending her mother’s church, which sparks resentment towards her for a significant time after that.

Once the family farm goes under, Moody tries even harder to support her family. Moody is asked for a copy of her birth certificate for graduation, but her birth certificate depicts her name as Annie Mae. When her mother requests to have it changed, she is informed that changing it would incur a fee; Moody requests to keep the name Annie, and in doing so changes her name to Annie Mae.

Moody’s political opinions awaken in her teenage years, depicted in the book’s second section, ‘High School.’ While she attends high school for her first year, Emmett Till, an innocent 14-year-old black boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago, is tortured and murdered for allegedly whistling in an enticing and offensive manner at a white woman. His murder becomes a defining moment in Moody’s life. Shortly after the murder, when Moody asks her mother questions about why Emmet Till was killed and by whom, she is told, ‘an Evil Spirit killed him;’ and that ‘it would take eight years to learn what that spirit was.’ For the first time, Moody understands the extent to which whites in Mississippi will go to protect their way of life. That they will go to cruel and unjust ends to ensure white supremacy and the powerlessness of blacks. Moody asks for the definition of the word “NAACP”. She is told by her mother never to mention that word around whites, and, if she is able, not at all. Later, Moody finds that there is one adult in her life who can explain to her the answers she searches for: Mrs. Rice, her homeroom teacher. Mr.s Rice becomes a pivotal part of Moody’s growth. She answers Moody’s questions concerning Emmett Till and the NAACP, and she volunteers a great deal more information about race relations in Mississippi. Moody’s curiosity about the NAACP comes again later while she attends college. Moody declares this the point in her life where she grew a hatred for white people. She also moves to Baton Rouge in the same year during the summer. While she is in Baton Rouge, Moody learns several difficult lessons when she is scammed out of two weeks of pay by a white family, and when she is double-crossed by a co-worker, which resulted in her being fired. Moody viewed working for Mrs. Burke as an obstacle to overcome. Moody ended up graduating high school in the summer of 1959 and decided to return to New Orleans for good.

The analysis of religion in a family of the African American experience is crystal clear in all aspects. For each African American experience, the outcome will be different. Religion is an important factor in the African American experience. It is especially important in the Coming Of Age Of Mississippi. I will be comparing these important concepts of religion with other texts and documents.

In coming of age in Mississippi, Anne Moody didn’t really understand the concept of religion as a young girl. She didn’t even understand the songs they were singing. She says “And just like at Mount Pleasant, I couldn’t understand one word of any song. All the old ladies did, though.” (Moody, pg 63). For Anne Moody being so young at this time was challenging for her in understanding such big concepts. Anne Moody was not alone in the African American Voices book the Niagara movement statement of principles is very confused by the church’s attitude toward black Americans. “…., to narrow the bounds of human brotherhood, and to segregate black men to some outer sanctuary. This is wrong, unchristian and disgraceful to the twentieth-century civilization.” (Niagara, pg,55) The Niagara movement and all of its accomplishments were between the years 1893-1910. Anne Moody was born in 1940 way after the Niagara movement but was still having trouble understanding the Bible/Christian way of things.

As Anne Moody got into her teenage years she started to understand and appreciate the church she went to and didn’t want to go anywhere else. She scored top marks in Sunday school and really excelled. Anne Moody wants to prove herself to the whites and to anybody who said she couldn’t do it “Within a few days after I received mine, I would know it by heart. And when I said it in the program, unlike most of the other participants, I didn’t forget a word or stumble” (Moody, pg 66). In AAV W.E.B Du Bois’s famous document, “We Return Fighting” states. “But by the God of Heaven, we are cowards and jackasses if now that war is over, we do not marshal every ounce of our brain and brawn to fight a sterner, longer, more unbending battle against the forces of hell in our own land.” (Dubois, pg 89)Even though African Americans had it EXTREMELY HARD during the Jim Crow era they still prevailed. They still made sure that they followed what was true to their hearts and they didn’t give up their religion.

Anne Moody thought “The Bible says thou shall not kill! How can he kill a man and preach what the Bible says to people?” (Moody, pg 65). Religion was such an important thing during this era. People needed something to hope for. Black Americans needed someone to believe in. They needed to feel safe and the only way they could be to follow the one religion they knew about. Which was Christianity. The white people converted all of the African Americans to Christianity, sadly most of them didn’t remember what religion they were before they converted them. We have been mainstreamed into this “white society” and we have been forced to believe something that white men made up. During the middle to late 1900’s The civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965 were made. Ministers and reverends took this as an act of god and further their push for African Americans to keep believing and trusting this “almighty god.”

“Mutual aid, beneficial and fraternal societies were sometimes connected with churches, and with the spread of Jim Crow, they too increased in importance as centers of black social, political, and economic life..” (Black Women and Nation Making, pg, 3) Because mostly everyone was Christian and mostly all African Americans went to church. Churches were a great way to spread the word about important events or to make people listen.

As Anne Moody got older she was shunned away from her family because of her persistence and activism in civil rights. Anne Moody was a strong believer in god until the Birmingham church bombing that killed 4 young girls. this bombing made Anne Moody lose faith and she decided that “I will be my own God, living my life as I see fit.”(Moody, pg,318)

In the years 1966-1677 ministers started to get really fired up about black civil rights. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was one of many ministers who wanted to fight for the rights of his people. One of the things that set him apart from the rest of the ministers was that he was for nonviolent demonstrations. King obviously opposed

the Vietnam War. He didn’t like it because he thought that there was hope for the poor black and white people of America and was deeply disappointed when the Vietnam war broke out and stopped the progress that was going on. He believed that god was deeply concerned for his children. “Because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned, especially for His suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them.” (King Jr, pg 240)

While Anne Moody was losing faith a lot of other people got more inspired by the thought of faith. People like King and Malcolm X and etc… all rallied around religion and faith as their main points. It goes to show that even though Anne Moody and other people were raised as Christians or a certain religion. Events and activities can deeply change that. Anne Moody was an atheist. But just because she is an atheist Right now doesn’t mean something else can happen and then she changes again. People change, and People find new things to have faith in. Religion is a very important aspect in all ways And is clearly seen in history, the present, and of course the future.