Dicussion Question #1 - To Kill A Mockingbird Discussion Thread - reg8.ecollege.com Mr. Lindsay

Scout learns the lesson that you cant fight someone just because they said something insulting. At the begining of the book she hits Francis because of what he calls her father. After talks with her father she realizes that fighting isnt going to help her. This is her "coming of age". She grows more mature about dealing with people talking about her father. At school she was teased about it and had to think back at what her father had told her. "Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner i learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be." (pg. 74). You can tell that she is becoming more mature because she remembers what her father tells her. She takes a moment to think about what she is about to do. Later on in the book, When Scout and Jem are walking to the store, Mrs. Dubose calls their father the same thing Francis had. Scout resists going over and hitting her. This is when you can tell she is really "coming of age.".


Jem learned alot about controling his anger too. When he couldnt handle Mrs. Dubose's comment about his father, Jem ruins her garden. Responsibility is an important thing to learn as you grow older. It has alot to do with "coming of age" because you have to be responsible when your older. Jems father tells him to go appologize to mrs. Dubose and so he does. "She wants me to come every afternoon after school and Saturdays and read to her out loud for two hours."(pg 105). Jem didnt want to do this but he followed through because that was his consequence. This showed how Jem was becoming more mature.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, had a coming of age lesson when she did not realize that Walter Cunningham and her family were "poor". This is a lesson for Scout because when she was at school, she would make fun of Walter and beat him up at recess even when Atticus does not like when Scout uses her fighting skills to an innocent person. When Miss Caroline asked the class to put their lunch on top of their desk, she realized that Walter was the only one who did not either raise his hand for going home to eat lunch or bring his lunch to school. Miss Caroline offered Walter money but he refused to take and Scout was brave to tell Miss Caroline that he was a Cunningham. Scout said "I rose graciously on Walter's behalf: 'Ah Miss Caroline?' 'What is it, Jean Louise?' 'Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham.'"[pg 20] This quote is showing that Scout is telling Miss Caroline that he a Cunningham and a Cunningham, to Scout, will never take anything from people if they can't pay it back, but instead they use what they have and live off of what they have. This is showing that Scout is making a point that all Cunningham's are poor, and she is making a joke out it if you put it in Walter's point of view because maybe he did not want Miss Caroline to know that he was poor or to have other students make fun of him for that, including Scout. Scout once asked Atticus why the Cunningham's were poor and if the Finch's were as poor as they were, here is a quote "One morning Jem and I found a load of stovewood in the back yard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps. With Christmas came a crate of smilax and holly. That spring when we found a crokersack full of turnip greens, Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him. 'Why does he pay you like that?' I asked. 'Because that's the only way he can pay me. He has no money.' 'Are we poor, Atticus?' Atticus nodded. 'We are indeed.' Jem's nose wrinkled. 'Are we as poor as the Cunningham's?' 'Not exactly. The Cunningham's are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest."[pg 20-21] Scout never made fun of him again because when Jem invited him over for dinner and she saw him pour syrup on the pile of food on his plate and she kept saying that he kept drowning in his food and Calpurinia told her off by telling Scout that there are some folks who don't eats the way the Finch's do. Scout finally realized that everyone is poor in Maycomb because of the economy since the Great Depression was happening during this time period and they too were poor, but as poor as the Cunningham's and she realized that she took everything for granted and did not realize how awful the Cunningham's lived compared to her, she never made fun of Walter ever again.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", Jeremy Finch, or Jem, had a coming of age lesson when he realized you should not intrude in other people's house's or owned land. This is a lesson because when Jem and Dill had the idea of sneaking into the Radley's yard and to look through the window to try see if they can get a look of what boo Radley looked liked, they believed that this would be a good idea since no one would see them and no one would find out. But in the end, they were seen by a man with a hat, Mr. Nathan Radley, who came from the Radley house when Jeam was on the porch. When Jem, Scout, and Dill went into the Radley yard, there was a porch that ran across the width of the house, two doors and two dark windows. When Dill coudn't see anything in the window he looked through, Jem tried to look through one of the windows on the porch, but since the porch was so squeaky, it woke up the man with the hat, but all Scout saw was a shadow. Jem ran and told Dill and Scout to run with him through the schoolyard fence, and while running, they heard a shotgun that roared through the neighborhood. But when Scout and Dill went through the fence fine, they saw Jem having trouble getting through and he was trying to wiggle through but his pants were stuck on the fence. Jem finally got through the fence but the problem was that his pants were still tangled in the fence, leaving him pant less. When the three of them went through Deer Pasture, they saw all of the neighbors circle around the Radley's gate and with Mr. Nathan Radley inside his gate with the shotgun in his hand. Jem, Scout and Dill went over to the crowd and pretended to not know what was going on and Jem aked Miss Maudie what happened, forgetting he did not have his pants. "'What happened?' Jem asked. 'Mr. Radley shot at a Negro in his collard patch.' 'Oh. Did he hit him?' 'No,' said Miss Stephanie. 'Shot in the air. Scared him pale, though. Says if anybody sees a white nigger around, that's the one. Says he's got the other barrel waitn' for the next sound he hears in that patch, an' next time he won't aim high, be it dog, nigger, or-Jem Finch!"'[pg 54] Miss Stephanie knew that it was Jem because he saw he did not have his pants since they were in the fence, but Dill told Atticus that that they were playing strip poker by the fishpool making an alibi for Jem, Scout and himself so they won't get in trouble. Atticus did believe in Dill and was still mad. But Jem still felt unsafe without his pants and went to retrieve them with Scout and he found them waiting for him, neatly folded and sewed where he ripped them in the gate. The lesson that Jem had learned from this is that not to sneak into someone's yard at night even if you expect no one to find you because in the end, someone is always watching and will get you in trouble. And Jem also learned not to lie because he felt very unsafe without his pants, but still relieved that he did not get in trouble for that but still he wanted to know if he could get rid of the evidence, when someone already found the evidence for him.

An example of Scout coming-of-age is when Calpurnia angerly talks to Scout when Walter Cunningham is eating at their house. On page 24, Scout says," But he's gone and drowned his dinner in syrup." Calpurnia answered this by saying calling Scout to the kitchen and telling her that some people do not eat like her, and she should respect her company. On page 24, Calpurnia says,"There's some folks who don't eat like us, but you ain't called on to contradict 'em at the table when they don't. That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?" Scout learns to respect everyone who comes to her house, by being polite and keeping rude thoughts to herself. This lesson will help Scout become more mature, and teach her to respect everyone.

An example of Jem coming-of-age is when Atticus teaches him about courage. On page 112, Atticus said,"I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand." This helped Jem understand that sometimes small acts of kindness like reading to Mrs. Dubose, who was sick and frightening to the children, takes a large amount of courage. Jem learned the lesson to help those in need, and that you do not need to be a superhero to be courageous. I think this will cause Jem to act less childish, and to help more people in need.

I agree with this about Scout and Jem because without taking responsibility or learning to control their anger then they would not have been able to grow up and mature. Scout definitely has learned a lot from her father, Atticus, because he teaches her by speaking to her as an equal, which shows Scout she is grown up and should behave like him. As for Jem he is also treated as an equal and while he grew up he always wanted to impress his father and never let him down, this also taught him to be "older." Both kids learned how to behave because of their father, he was the cause for their "coming age."

In chapter 11 Scout was able to finally realize why Atticus was telling her and Jem to get a hold of their anger, especially when they heard someone talking about Atticus in a negative way for defending Tom Robinson. Mrs. Dubose was always calling insults to Jem and Scout as they passed by her house every day, one day she shouted an insult about Atticus that deeply offended Jem however Scout and Jem eventually continued to walk to town and bought a toy steam engine and a baton. However on as they passed Mrs. Dubose's house Jem grabbed Scout's baton and destroyed all of Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes, he then pulled Scouts hair when she wouldn't stop screeching and then kicked her which caused her to fall to the ground. It is implied in the book that Scout was able to get a better understanding of why Atticus was telling her and Jem to not start any fights, she was able to see how immature that Jem was by acting the way he did to Mrs. Dubose and herself. I believe that this incident will make Scout think twice about starting a fight with anyone, she might still fight the person because of her pride but she might realize that what she did was immature and she could have delt with the situation in a better way.

In chapter 10 both Scout and Jem found out that their father use to shoot and was very good at it, in fact his nickname was OL' One shot when he was younger. Atticus never mentioned to them that he use to ever do such a thing and in fact was not big on the idea of the two of them shooting air rifles. At the end of the chapter, Jem picks up a rock and through it at a carhouse, he then chased after it and called back to Scout that "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!" Jem learned through Atticus's example that some things in life must be given up, or mainly left unsaid in order to make yourself a better person. This might make Jem consider about his behavior and interests in life and what he should be doing to make himself a better person.

I agree with you with the lesson that Scout has learned on her first day of school, it allows her to understand why people act the way they do based on what has happened to them. Everyone learns this lesson at one point in their life, Scout has learned it earlier than most, and I think that this will come in handy when the trials happen because she will wonder why is it that the whites hate the blacks so much when they have done nothing wrong and this will allow her to be a better person than most in her community. I also agree with the lesson that Jem has learned, I agree with you that Jem has learned through Atticus what courage really is not only from what he said but also for being Tom Robinson’s lawyer. Another thing that I believe that Atticus does that demonstrates courage is by shooting Tim Johnson, but not because he was facing a rabid dog, but because he had to do something he didn’t want to do and gave up in his life to be a better person, shooting. I believe that you are right that this will make him make more mature decisions in life, but I think that it will also help him face the criticism that will be placed upon his father in the coming trials.

I agree that both of these lessons are important coming-of-age lessons for Scout and Jem. I never really thought about Scout taking that lesson to heart and possibly bringing it up in the trial. Scout's very biased outlook on Miss Caroline will most likely be brought up later in the story, proving it to be an important part. I think Scout learned a great deal from Atticus in this situation and i think it would have been useful for her to remember this during the situation with Uncle Jack when she says right away that she will hate him forever. Scout has no idea that Jack isnt very experienced in dealing with children and she jumps to conclusions too quickly just like in the example you showed. As for Jem, i agree that he needs to know what real courage is and that it isnt just puting oneself in a dangerous position even though it is not necessary. Jem learns a lot from this experience and i fully agree that it was a coming-of-age experience for someone caught between being a child and a young adult.

I agree with you that Scout learned not to fight people just because they insulted you because Scout didn't hit Mrs. Dubose so Scout learned her lesson after her incident with Francais. Although, I don't agree with you that Jem learned about controlling his anger at all, because after Jem ripped apart Mrs. Dubose's flowers he still yelled at her and Atticus for having to read to Mrs. Dubose for an extra week.

I also agree with Emory, it seems like both Jem and Scout had issues controlling their built up anger. I think that because of the time period they lived in, violence was pretty common. I think that since Jem and Scout's father, Atticus, was defending a black man in the case, they took it personally when someone said or made rude comments about their father or his client. It almost seemed like when someone would say something mean, they felt as if they could "one-up-them" by using violence. Although Jem and Scout did have some anger issues, they seemed to be able to correct their problem, which is better for not only themselves but everyone around them as well. I also think the lessons they learned have taught them a thing or two about respect for blacks and whites.

I do agree that Jem had a coming of age when he realized not everyone could read or write. But I do think Jem realized that not everyone is treated equally. Jem knows what people say about Atticus defending an African American and he realizes that many white people do not treat them with equally, instead, they are racist and cruel to the African Americans and anyone who respects them. Also, as a agree with Scout having a coming of age realizing that fighting is not always the answer, I don't believe her knowing that Francis will also have a consequence really teaches her a coming of age lesson. After the fight I believe Scout thought it wasn't so bad to hit Francis because he was the one who made the comments first, but that doesn't truly teach her a lesson. Because really, Scout didn't learn the lesson until she heard what Atticus' opinion about it was, when Atticus was talking to Uncle Jack.

I agree completely with you on both topics, i think that Scout is struggling to be heard being the only girl in the family besides Calpurnia and spends her time hanging out with boys, and has begun acting like them. I think that it will take time for her to learn that she cant react with violence and that there are different ways to handle things in any situation. I think with Jem, he wanted to always show that he was rough and tough for his sister and that he ahd to protect her because Atticus wasnt always home and they were by themselves a lot in the neiborhood. I think that sometimes he does stuff that could get in trouble but to show his sister that he isnt afraid of anything. Overall i think both your responses were written well and answered the prompt well.

I agree that Scout learns to be more mature by being told that she should respect how others do things and that they may not have a lifestyle as great as hers might be. Keeping her rude comments to herself will definitely be very important in terms of being able to understand other people who may not have the same opinions and values that she may possess.

Scout learns the lesson that you can't take to violence because you don't like someone or something that someone is doing. When we are first introduced to her cousin, Francis Hancock, in chapter nine, Scout makes it very clear that she does not like Francis. Further into the chapter while she is talking to him, he says, "He's nothin' but a nigger-lover!" (Page 83) about Atticus, and this triggers Scout to leap onto Francis even after she had promised Atticus that she would not continue to fight. This type of action usually occurs with younger kids, and even though Scout is still on the younger side, she learns later that this is no way to react to negative events. This "coming-of-age" lesson sort of fades in and out of Scout, though. Prior to her fight with Francis, she is teased at school by a boy named Cecil Jacobs. He comes up to her in the schoolyard, the day following Scout's promise to Atticus to refrain from fighting when someone teases her about her father, and says," My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank! [...] Scout's a cow-ward!" (Page 76-77) which, although it aggravated her, she kept her promise to Atticus. It is made very clear that Scout understands that fighting is bad when she says, "Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I held in, the better off everybody would be." This showed that she understood why Atticus was telling her this and that she will do what he says, even if she is antagonized like she is after the encounter with Cecil Jacobs.


Similar to the lesson that Scout learns, Jem has a bit of controlling that he has to control and maintain on his own. In chapter 11 Jem, along with Scout, walk home passing by Mrs. Dubose's house. As they are walking by, she says a few nasty things to them concluding with, "Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!" (Page 101), and " Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (page 102), which hit Jem hard and set him off. They proceed to the store where he buys a baton for Scout and a steam train for himself, as planned. On their way back home, Jem stopped at Mrs. Dubose's gate, snatched the baton from Scout, and "ran flailing wildly up the steps to Mrs. Dubose's front yard" (Page 102). After doing so he "did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves." (page 103). This instance depicts Jem's uncontrolled anger setting him off into a rampage, which led Atticus to send him to Mrs. Dubose for a punishment. His punishment is having to read to her for two hours every afternoon on school days and Saturdays. After this incident, Jem seems to be able to keep his cool which obviously shows that he has learned from this experience.

Scout indeed has learned many lessons in this story about coming of age. To me, the most important one is when she learns about how racism affects most of their town, and the most of the United states. She is first introduced to this when Atticus takes on the black man as his client. Atticus told scout that they most likely will not win the case and will be mocked around town for it. When scout asks him why he tells her, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to try to win."(pg 76) The entire conversation that Atticus has with scout on pages 74-76 further enhance Scouts knowledge of african Americans and how they are viewed and treated in that designated time period. from this point on, after Atticus has shed light on the subject, scout will no longer refer to African Americans as n****rs and wil view them as any other human being.

Jem on the other hand learned many lessons himself through these chapters. one of the main ones though was personal space. Unfortunately, Jem learned his lesson the hard way, through the mistakes he made. With the radley house just down the street, Jem, Scout, and Dill were always snooping around it. With all the ghost stories gossiped around town about the mysterious Boo Radley, the children were intregued, just like any other child hearing a ghost story. Jem was even dared by Dill to touch the house which freightened all the children. Even after that incedent though, Jem was still questioning the existance of Boo so he decided to attempt to contact the mysterious stranger. He, scout and Dill wrote Boo a note asking him to come outside so they could hangout and buy him an icecream. Jem tried casting it into the window with his fishing pole when theyr father Atticus stepped in on them. Atticus said, "Son, I'm going to tell you something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man. That goes for the other two of you." (pg. 49) Jem, from that moment on no longer messed around with the Radley house again, partly because of his fear of Atticus and partly for the respect that he felt for him. In the next few chapters, I predict that Jem will no longer disturb the Radleys and further respect them for who they are.

Scout experienced "coming of age" in chapter nine. She learns that fighting someone is not a good way to handle a situation. Scout rather use violence when she is angry rather than talking it out and acting like a lady. She illustrates coming of age on pag 74. She says, "I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold it in, the better off everybody would be." Scout, after being talked to by Atticus, realized that fighting and violence would never resolve an issue. That is why she chose not to get into a brawl with Cecil Jacobs. This will effect the way she acts through out the rest of the book in two ways. Scout will be able to control herself when she is being harassed because of her father defending Tom Robinson. It will also be a start for her to become more like a lady and less of a tomboy. I believe by the end of the book Scout will act less like a boy and it began with her not fighting.

Jem experiences coming of age in a similar way. In chapter eleven Jem takes out his anger on Mrs. Dubose's garden and hr flowers. He also snapped Scout's baton in half. Jem learned that acting out in such violent ways are not the way to go about things because of the consequences that follow. On page 104 Atticus says, " I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose." When he went down to her home and he is told that he needs to read to her. That is when Jem learns that there is a consequence with evey action and he will no longer lash his anger In such ways. This will effet the rest of the story because Jem will become more mature and learn to make wiser decisions.

I believe that Scout has changed a great deal since the beginning of the book. In the beginning of the book Scout is perceived to be a very tom-boyish girl that was not afraid of getting her hands dirty and enjoyed being around and acting like a boy throughout her earlier years. You can tell that she almost takes it to offense when Jem calls her girly for example, on pages 51-52 Jem says, "Scout I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home - I declare to the Lord your gettin' more like a girl everyday." Scout was taken back by comments like these whether it was from Jem, extended family members, or even comments from Mrs. Dubose. But throughout later chapters she becomes aware of her position as a "real" girl. As in chapter 12 when Jem and Scout tag along with Cal. to her church she gets all dressed up without a complaint. Also as Jem grows older he is having less time to spend with Scout and this leads to Scout to become more of a mature girl as she is finding herself in the kitchen with Cal. more often and enjoying herself more than less. I also believe that Scout has changed since the beginning because during the first few chapters, Scout had absolutely no self control over her temper and what she said was the first thing that came to her mind. You could say Scout had no "filter" on what she said. But as the chapters progressed she learned some sort of control from the teachings of Atticus.

Jem has taken some large steps towards being a man in these 14 chapters. He learns important lessons in these chapter but the main lesson he learns is the lesson of giving a little for someone in need can go a long way for that person. For example in the story, after Jem terrorizes Mrs. Dubose's plants and is forced to read to her, he learns that he was doing her such a big favor. He was giving her a reason to live another day even though she was so close to her death. Atticus explains this to Jem on page 112, it says, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun." Atticus is teaching Jem a very important lesson here about the small things in life and to learn from the experiences of others.

As far as scout's coming of age, you can see her thought process begining to change as she grows odler. Part of her change in thoughts come from disiplinary actions taken by Aticus for her misbehavior. For example, back in the start of the book when scout started to go to school, she would blurt out what ever was on her mind about anyone and their family background. This lead to many fights that Scout became involved in. Aticus explained to her how you can't do that to people. Also, scout used to be verry supersticous. She, as well as Dill and Jem, used to belive every rumor about Boo Radley that she heard, even the one that he eats cats. Now in the point of Scouts life that we are reading about, she has some what faded away from the whole topic in general. These all jst show that scout is becoming older.

As for Jem, he is entering what i like to call the "tough guy stage". He starts to obsess over football and becomes a jerk to his sister and does not like to be seen around her. That is a typical 12 year old for you. When i was around that age i went through a similar phaze as him. I would do everything possible to not be seen alongside my little brother, and if we were somewhere in public and someone i knew was in sight i would shove him away. I felt like it was something i had to do to prove myself to my dad that i wasn't a little kid anymore. Maybe that's what jem sees it as too.

Dear Ms.Danaher,
Thank you for elightening me with this work of art homework asignment. I completely agree with your opinoins and observations on Scout and Jem's coming of age expeiriences. I look forward to reading more of your peices in further discousions about this wonderful peice of literature we are reading in the best english class in all of RHAM Highschool.

I agree with what she said about Scout and holding herself back from fighting the other boy. She chose to do the more lady like and more appropriate thing and listen to Atticus' advice and just walk away and be the better person. Scout will soon realize that being more mature than the rest will benefit her in many ways and people will show her respect and give her the attention that she wants as a growing child.

The lesson Scout has learned so far in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is that fighting does not solve every problem. in the beginning of the story Scout was always fighting other kids because they had insulted her. But Atticus teaches her that it is better to be brave and back away from a fight, than to fight back just because you are insulted. On page 74 Scout shows how she has matured by saying, "I was far too old and too big for such childish things". This shows how Scout is now thinking before she acts and is realizing that fighting is immature and childish. However, I think on the inside sometimes Scout wants to fight back, and later in the story I think she will not be thinking clearly and get in a fight with someone for calling Atticus a "nigger-lover", because this in particular seems to frustrate her even though she does not fully understand the phrase.

Jem has learned a lesson so far in the story as well. What Jem has learned us that courage is not just about being able to be physically strong, real courage is being mentally strong. In the beginning of the story being courageous to Jem was touching the Radleys house. But now after visiting Mrs. Dubose and seeing how mentally courageous she was, Jem is learning what real courage is. Atticus explains This to Jem on page 112 when he say, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea tahr courage is a nab with a gun". Atticus is explaining to Jem that Mrs. Dubose had real courage and he should have courage like that instead of what his idea of courage used to be. I think later in the story Jem will have this courage that Atticus is talking about when it matters most.

I believe that both Jem and Scout have become more responsible people as the book goes on. A coming-of-age lesson that Scout has learned to show that her responsibility has grown is that in the beginning of the book she says, “She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn’t ready to come. Our battles were epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side” (page 6). If you compare this to all the time that Scout and Jem have been spending with Calpurnia with Atticus gone, you can notice a big change in Scout’s attitude. On page 126 Calpurnia says, “ Any time you want to,” she said. “We’d be glad to have you.” In the beginning Calpurnia and Scout were always fighting but after Scout has grown more, she is now wanting to stay with Calpurnia and is having civilized talks with her just like as if she was a grown up. This will affect the rest of the book because Scout will learn to respect grown ups more and learn to become more an adult.

Jem has showed an increase in responsibility because in the beginning of the book, Jem would always fool around with Dill and Scout and play childish games. He wouldn’t really behave as well as he does when he is older. Ever since he has been called “Mister Jem,” he has started to act more grown up and less childish. An example of this is on page 141 Jem says, “Dill, I had to tell him,” he said. “You can’t run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin’.” Jem shows that he made the right decision to tell Atticus about such a dangerous action that Dill has done. In the beginning of the book, I think Jem would have went along with it and not told Atticus because he wouldn’t of known what to do. Now with a more knowledge of the world around him, he is able to make the right decisions. This will affect the rest of the book because Jem will know what to do in a difficult situation because he has had more experiences in the world.

Jem has matured throughout the story noticeably. Before Jem went through the period of time where he read to Mrs. Dubose, he responded very emotionally to the various names that she used to describe Atticus. After he read to her, he leaned to control his emotions. An example of this is on page 110 it says, "Jem's chin would come up, and he would gaze at Mrs. Dubose with a face devoid of resentment. Through the weeks he had cultivated an expression of polite and detached interest, which he would present to her in answer to her more blood-curdling inventions." This shows that instead of flipping out on Mrs. Dubose, Jem had developed a facial expression to respond to the harsh remarks that she would spit at him. By developing this detatchment, Jem may be able to handle the difficulties that Atticus had warned him might be coming because of him taking on the case of Tom Robinson.

Scout's coming of age moment occurs after the fight she had with Francis. When Francis kept persistently referring to Atticus as a "nigger-lover", Scout wasn't able to hold back her anger. Before this fight, on page 76 Atticus takes Scout on his lap and tells her to remeber that, "...no matter how bitter things get they are still our friends and this is still our home." This is when Scout begins to feel the guilt for letting Atticus down and she decides not to ever let him down again. After she decides this she ends up getting in an argument with Cecil Jacobs. But after remembering what she had promised to Atticus, she was able to bring herself to walk away from what would have been a fight with Cecil. Although she fought with Francis after this three weeks of self-control, she is able to resist the temptation of overreacting to the cruel remarks of Mrs. Dubose. This suggests that although she cannot always control her actions, she is developing a stronger will to not let Atticus down.

So far in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout has been faced with multiple challenging situations. One of these include when she was comparing her father, Atticus, to some of the other fathers of her classmates in school. Scout sees all of the other fathers as involved and young where she views Atticus as an old man with little abilities to his name. On page 89 it says, “Our father didn’t do anything. He worked in an office, not in a drugstore. Atticus did not drive a dump-truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone…He did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the living room and read.” She was embarrassed by her father rather than proud of what made him different. Later on in the chapter, after Scout learned about her father being talented at shooting, Jem told her that it didn’t matter if Atticus could or couldn’t do anything at all. Scout learned that it doesn’t matter how much a person has to the name from the past that makes the person who they are, it’s how a person treats and acts towards others in each moment. Scout could apply this in the future by connecting it to Tom Robinson, the man that Atticus is defending or to Boo Radley because so far, what she knows about them is only what she has heard.
Jem learned that courage is more than appearing as being the toughest, but knowing what will happen will not be easy, yet pushing yourself to continue nevertheless because you know what is truly right. Jem learned this through Atticus after being told about Mrs. Dubose’s death. Atticus told him that even if Jem hadn’t lost his temper, he would’ve told him to read to Mrs. Dubose because he wanted him to see what courage really is. On page 112, Atticus says, “I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” Jem can use this in the future because he knows what it’s going to take to withstand the criticism and harsh treatment from Atticus defending Tom Robinson, but being able to continue on strong with true courage.

I agree that Scout and Calpurnia's relationship has grown over the course of the story, affecting how she respects other adults. I also think that because she has seen that relationships can grow after a length of time and even though a relationship may not always start out on the same terms, after people get to know each other and grow up with each other, there is a greater chance of being closer to the other person. In the future, this will allow her to know to not give up on people from her initial impressions. I also agree that Jem has become more responsible and aware of consequences, which in the future could help him also when facing situations involving Atticus defending Tom Robinson.

I agree that the Finches have a lot of pride another example of this is when the children at school make fun of Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Scout starts fighting those students. Atticus then later tells Scout not to fight the children at school. On page 76, "You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what antbody says to you, don't let 'em get your goat." Atticus does not want Scout dropping to their level. He wants Scout to keep her head held high. Atticus is trying to prepare his children for their future and not to become like that. This is helping Scout and Jem gain pride throughout the book, Atticus is teaching them to.

Jimmy, I do agree with your opinions, especially on Jem. I to agree that Jem's greatest coming of age moment was the coming of age debacle. But I kind of forgot about the run-ins with Miss Caroline. I can now see how this was a coming of age moment, where Scout goes to school for the first time and learns that all adults will not be open towards her, ans well as the lesson she learns from Atticus about how not to judge a book by its cover. Overall, a good response.