Dec. 14, 2015

Prompt: Do any of the characters change as you've read? Explain why or why not. 

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

            One character that I have seen really change throughout the book is Scout. In the beginning of the book Scout hears things about Boo Radley. Scout is very scared of Boo. She thinks that he is a harmful person, and tries to avoid the Radley House. There were so many rumors about Boo that made all the children fearful of him. Scout, Jem, and Dill all participate mocking Boo, and even end up making a game out of him. Everytime she would get near his house, she would sprint past it. Later on in the book, Scout's fear of Boo begins to fade. She starts to mature and realize that all of those rumors were made up. When Boo puts the blanket over Scout when it was cold she realizes that he is harmless. Near the end of the book all of Scout's fantasies of meeting Boo have come true. After meeting Boo and walking him home, Scout now knows that he is normal person, and has nothing to fear about him. She has gone to being afraid of Boo to becoming friends with him.

            Another character that that changed a lot is Jem. Jem has gotten so mature over the years in the book. In the beginning of the book Jem would always play with Scout and Dill. They all would make up new games and have their adventures together. As the story goes on Jem seems to be more independent. He does not want to be involved with Dill and Scout's games. You can tell that Jem and Scout's relationship faded a little in the middle of the novel. Jem would be very serious at times, and acts like Atticus a lot at times. At the end of the book you can see how Jem truly does love Scout by protecting her when they were attacked by Bob Ewell. He held her hand through the way, and saves Scout by not leaving her behind. This shows that he has changed a lot, because in the beginning of the book he thought it was brave enough to touch the Radley house, but years later he is brave enough to protect Scout from getting hurt, and killed.

            Although there is only one specific part in the book where you can see Boo change it means a lot to the characters and readers. Boo has spent most of his life indoors without having any contact face to face with people as an adult until the end of the book. He has been isolating himself so much that the town has made terrible rumors about him. He seems to be too shy to come outside, so he just leaves gifts for the children, showing us that he is friendly. At the end of the book when he kills Bob and takes the kids home it is shocking to all of us that he had the courage to come outside. He could have just stayed inside and minded his own business, but instead he was brave enough to go outside, and even kill a man to protect the children. To me that is a very big change that a character has gone through.