Coming of Age in To Kill a Mockingbird Analysis Essay

Often when people ponder the question about coming of age, their first thought is about maturity. Past or present events can contribute heavily to a person’s level of maturity. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem’s coming of age is shown when he slowly starts to see the world differently after his father, Atticus loses the Tom Robinson case. Literary elements of conflict and characterization are used in Lee’s novel to further emphasize the idea that as people grow older they start to realize how the morals of society are extremely biased towards one group and unfair to the other.

A pivotal moment in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird that used the literary element conflict was when Tom Robinson was found guilty by the jury, this verdict shocked Jem and made him question the morals of society. Tom was accused of sexually assaulting Mayella Ewell, a white woman who lived in his neighborhood that is predominantly occupied by Black people. There are many differences in Tom and Mayella’s testimonies. Most notably is when Tom was giving his testimony and stated: “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a n*****. She says what her papa do to her don’t count” (Lee 260). In Mayellas’s testimony, she stated that Tom was the one that pressured her, making someone’s story a lie. If what Tom says is true, Bob Ewell was the one that abused Mayella, not Tom. Given the context of that statement, Bob has kissed Mayella in the past. Accusing Tom wasn’t a random choice. The Ewellss encounter Tom everyday when he walks home from work, making him an easy target. Mayella was using Tom as a way to cope with the trauma she endured from her father. She was using the trial as an escape, to justify what had happened to her with a blatant lie. Not only that but, Bob and Mayella knew that they would win the case because the justice system shows an extremely heavy bias towards white people. After both testimonies were stated and the jury had a discussion, Judge Taylor reads the verdict by saying: “Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…” (Lee 282). Despite having more than enough compelling evidence from the defendant’s side such as Tom’s unusable arm to the timelines that both Tom and Mayella provided is months apart. Due to Tom’s skin color and place in the Maycomb social system, he was still convicted for the assault and rape of Mayella. This was a clear example to both the reader and Jem of how the justice system then and even in today’s society has always had a heavy bias towards white people because the jury took the word of a white woman who was clearly lying. 

Most of Jem’s character development was directly after Judge Taylor had stated the verdict through the use of characterization. When Jem was watching the trial as a bystander he truly believed with the evidence that was provided in court, demonstrating Tom’s innocence. With his rational ideology at the time, he was certain that Tom would win and convinced everyone around him that there was nothing to worry about. When the time came and Tom was convicted of taking advantage, Jem couldn’t warp this head around the thought that any sane person would find Tom guilty: “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 282). Up until this point, there was no situation that made Jem question the morals of Maycomb. Of course to the adults, there was no surprise in this verdict as an injustice that stems from racism plays a huge role in Maycomb and its social ladder. Through conflict in the Tom Robinson case, Jem’s view on Maycomb and society as a whole shifts from an idealistic point of view to a much more realistic one. Due to the shock of the verdict, Jem enters a state of distraught because he’s unable to understand why Tom was convicted: “‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting” “‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting.’” (Lee 284). Jem reluctantly accepts the verdict but he still believes it’s wrong. He still hasn’t entered his teenage years at this point. Even for a teenager, for their entire view on society to be shattered in a matter of seconds has to be devastating. In Jem’s case, his faith in the justice system crashes on the floor. It is at this moment where he learns an important life lesson and starts to mature even more. 

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the use of conflict and characterization throughout the book portrays how as people gain more life experiences, they realize that society has an uncanny bias towards a certain group of people, usually stemming from a place of racism. As the story progressed, Jem matured all throughout the novel however, a crucial point in his development was when Tom Robinson was convicted. As a result, that moment makes Jem realize how unfair society is.