Coming of Age and Conflict in "To Kill a MockingBird"

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story that deals with the issues of racism and prejudice in the American South in the 1930s. The story centers on the childhood of young Scout Finch, who narrates the novel in first-person perspective. As the book opens, she is six years old; by its conclusion, she has become a young woman facing many of the same challenges as her father, Atticus Finch.

The novel explores themes such as racism, injustice, and morality.

It also deals with children's development both socially and intellectually.

The novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' illustrates a defining moment in coming of age and conflict. It tells us how Jem and Scout Finch and their experiences formed their understanding of the world. The Tom Robinson trial was the main event that taught the children about justice. Throughout the trial, the kids were exposed to the cruel actions of the justice system that was corrupted by racism.

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Through the strong morals of their father Atticus the kids were always taught justice and that justice is always fair and equal and they projected that belief onto the justice system of Maycomb County.

However, the hard truth is harsh, as Atticus said 'When it's a white man's word against the black man’s, the white man always wins.' (pg 224 PDF)
In chapter 19 Tom Robinson was up on the stand to give his testimony. Atticus was able to demonstrate a sufficient amount of evidence that worked in Tom Robinson's favor.

However, the evidence was adequate but the jury’s decision was inevitable and ended up being 'guilty'.