Everyone faces different changes as they grow up. Maturing, coming of age, and doing the right thing are important themes in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. This theme is seen most often in the character Jeremy "Jem" Finch. He portrays this theme as he begins to enter puberty and becomes a young man. Jeremy begins to become more independent, wiser and more capable of understanding adult situations; Jem begins to understand the situation better. Other characters that demonstrate this theme include Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee shows how Scout comes of age in similar ways to Jem. Scout begins to grow and becomes more tolerant of others by “putting herself in another person's shoes.” Boo shows his coming of age in a slightly different way than Jem and Scout. There's a scene in To Kill a Mockingbird where Boo has a chance to do the right thing by putting himself in danger to save lives, and he takes the chance. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book overflowing with a “coming of age” theme (whether shown through the main character or others). This theme is important to the story because these characters are a small example of the changes Maycomb must go through. Jeremy Finch is the character in which this theme is most represented. As part two begins, Jem begins to become a more mature person and develops a desire for wisdom and knowledge. “In addition to his newly developed characteristics, Jem had acquired an exasperating air of wisdom.” (116) In this quote, Calpurnia is speaking to Scout letting her know that the reason for Jem's sudden changes is that he is growing up and is almost a young man. Jem is starting to mature mentally. Jem wants to become more... middle of paper... aycomb, two people died in this novel. Bob Ewell and Tim Robinson. Both men died due to a chain of events stemming from the racism-based court case. Although he was different from the rest of the characters, Arthur Radley had his own way of maturing and doing the right thing. So what can we learn from Scout, Jem and Boo? That sometimes to understand things better or to do what is right you need to become more mature. Boo proves that maturing to do what's right is something Maycomb must do to save lives like he did. Scout supports this idea by learning from Atticus and walking in Boo's skin and completely understanding his reasoning for his actions. Think about the last time you expressed a harsh or crude judgment towards someone, trying to be a little more mature and put yourself in their shoes; maybe you would have done the same thing.