Grade 9 Unit 3 EA 2 Writing a Literary Analysis Essay

Score: Exemplary

Coming of age is an event that occurs in every persons life. It happens in many
different forms and impacts each individual's life differently. Whether its realizing adults
aren't as perfect as they seem, or gaining new responsibilities in life, To Kill a
Mockingbird, by Harper Lee illustrates the theme of Coming of Age perfectly. The book
tells the story through a growing girl's eyes. She is deemed innocent in the beginning,
but slowly begins to realize the world around her is much more hideous than she ever
knew. Her older brother Jem, senior to her by four years, realizes this much sooner than
his young sister. Jem comes face to face with a real life situation that defines coming of
age. Jem struggles to control his inner conflicts in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the
1930's. He deals with one event in particular that changes his outlook on his life in
Maycomb. An elderly woman, Mrs. Dubose, who lives in Scout and Jem's neighborhood
constantly torments the two children. Both of them generally ignore the old woman's
irrelevant insults, but when new problems arise in their small town, her insults light the
fuse In Jem's internal conflicts. This event highlights an elderly woman's hatred for the
children and their fathers ways, and teaches Jem an outlook on his life he'll begin to
consider quite frequently when dealing with conflicts. Harper Lee uses the literary
elements of conflict and characterization to explore the idea that seeing through the
eyes of others is essential to coming of age.

To begin with, Harper Lee develops a point of view for the reader with the
characterization of the elderly woman, Mrs. Dubose to lead into her theme of coming
age during this scene between Mrs. Dubose, and the children. Mrs. Dubose says, "What
are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!
You'll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways- a Finch waiting
on tables at the O.K caf- hah!' This excerpt of dialogue gives the reader insight on
how Mrs. Dubose treats the children without remorse. She previously had brought up
the children's late mother, who had been deceased for several years and insulted the
children with the death of their mother without reasoning. This statement frightens
Scout, but Jem assures her to act civilized. Jem neglects to look through the eyes of
Mrs. Dubose and attempt to see the situation from her point of view, which has its
consequences. The reader might wonder where Mrs. Dubose's self-control might be.
She seems to lack in that category based on how she acts towards juveniles. This
question is answered later on in the novel. Another example of characterization used to
develop the theme of coming of age is another statement Mrs. Dubose made towards
Jem and Scout in regards to their father Atticus defending a young African- American
man in a trial, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" This
statement is an eye-opener for Scout and Jem. The children had previously been
taunted by school mates and other children their own age. They were used to this type
of torment from their peers. But, this was the first moment Jem and Scout had heard
this kind of insult from an adult. They realize adults are much more flawed than they
could imagine. Jem doesn't take any time to regard the situation, and does not try to see
where Mrs. Dubose may be collecting her personal perspective on the trial from. The
two children quickly walk away from the house and proceed on their route to town for
the day, even though Jem is still furious.

To continue, Harper Lee uses conflict to express her theme of coming of age
during the same scene with Mrs. Dubose and the children. Jem, the protagonist in this
scene attempts to control his internal conflicts. He has been struggling with these
internal conflicts since he discovered his father was defending an African a American in
a trial. Insults have been thrown his way and he has been told by several of his peers
that his dad was a disgrace. Jem tells Scout after Mrs. Dubose insults her, "Come on
Scout... don't pay any attention to her, just hold your head high, and be a gentlemen."
Based on this quote, Jem handles his internal conflicts well. This shows maturity in Jem.
However, after another shot from Mrs. Dubose, Jem loses all of his self-control. As
stated from Scout's point of view, "We had just come from her gate when Jem snatched
my baton and ran flailing wildly up the steps and into Mrs. Dubose's front yard... He did
not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose
owned." Although Jem's actions may reflect the exact opposite of coming of age and
seem childish, he released his internal conflicts just like many of us do today. He was
angry, and hurt. His pain was more real, instead of exaggerated like a child's. His
internal conflict blossomed gruesomely into an external conflict. After this event takes
place, Jem is punished for his actions. His punishment is to read to Mrs. Dubose every
day for one month. During this time, Jem is continuously tormented by Mrs. Dubose, but
learns to ignore her. Later on, Mrs. Dubose dies. Atticus informs the children that she
was a morphine addict, and as she died, she wanted to slowly come off of the morphine
so she could die not tied to anything in this world. Jem begins to realize why Mrs.
Dubose was so cruel during her final days. He sees the world through her eyes, that's
when he discovers why she said the things she said, and acted how she did. After this,
the reader sees Jem grow as a young man, and he begins to consider other people's
views and begins to understand why some people do what they do. This is an extremely
good example of coming of age.

In conclusion, the reader can see how Harper Lee uses conflict and
characterization to develop the importance of how seeing the world through the eyes of
others is an inevitable part of coming of age. Although Jem had released his anger
immaturely, the consequences of his actions were a coming of age moment that opened
his eyes to new realizations of the world, and how to examine situations from other
points of view besides his own. This was a key part in his life, and his transition from a
boy to a young man.
Score: Exemplary

Annotation:

This essay embodies all the elements of an Exemplary student writing of an

essay of literary analysis in ideas, structure and language. Not only does the language
indicate a strong academic voice by showing a clear control of the language of literary
analysis, but the structure is clear and focuses on developing ideas through carefully
selected textual evidence, well-integrated into the essay, and including insightful
commentary on the quoted text. The opening paragraph provides an excellent
introduction to the novel and the scene to be discussed. From the careful summary and
the thematic connections being made, it is clear this writer is in control of the discussion.
The conclusion follows from the ideas developed in the essay and provides a sense of
satisfying closure. Transitions within paragraphs are exceptionally fine, but some
additional work on transitions between supporting paragraphs could improve this essay.
The real strength of this essay is found in the clear, precise and insightful expression of
ideas. The essay demonstrates a strong command of the story by choosing a passage
that shows a complex relationship between the scene and the major themes of the
novel. The focus on characterization and conflict is developed with excellent examples
and the commentary shows an ability to communicate sophisticated insights about the
nature of maturity as it is conveyed in the novel with a facility of expression
characteristic of an exemplary essay.