As a young and curious child, the small town where Scout Finch lived seemed like the world. Since the book To Kill a Mockingbird was set in the South during the 1930s, there was a lot of prejudice and unruly, opinionated people where he lived. In the book, everyone who lived nearby knew each other. The town also included Scout's older brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus. All the characters lived in Maycomb County, Alabama, a very small, prejudiced, and unequal place. Author Harper Lee expresses the death of innocence and coming of age through the character Scout and her conflicts with the world and people around her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin, Harper Lee expresses the death of innocence when Scout experiences external conflict with her teacher Miss Caroline. Scout loses her sense of idealism when she feels the need to inform her teacher of the financial circumstances of one of her classmates, Walter Cunningham, and the teacher punishes her for trying to be helpful because Scout had already left on foot. wrong . “'You're shaming him, Miss Caroline. Walter doesn't have a quarter home to bring you and you can't use wood for the stove. Miss Caroline stood still, then grabbed me by the collar and took me back to her desk. "Jean Louise, I've had enough of you this morning... hold out your hand." I thought he was going to spit in it…Miss Caroline took her ruler, gave me half a dozen quick little pats, then told me to stand in a corner.” Being hit or slapped leads the victim to the conclusion that he has done something he should not have done. This guides the victim to reflect on what they can do to improve themselves, so as not to make the same mistake. In this quote, being impressed by Miss Caroline may give the reader the ability to infer that Scout has learned to keep her nose out of other people's affairs or problems. Even though the reader would infer it, she still decided to try to beat up Walter for getting her in trouble. Overall, though, Scout had learned a valuable lesson. Additionally, Lee expresses the death of innocence through Scout along with the character of Aunt Alexandra. As soon as the additional supporting character, Aunt Alexandra, is introduced, she constantly forces Scout to "act ladylike" and perform acts that are signs of maturity and maturity.'Aunt Alexandra was fanatical about my clothing. I could not hope to be a lady if I wore trousers; when I said I couldn't do anything in a dress, she said I shouldn't do things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my behavior included playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; besides, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father's lonely life.” Scout grew up with her older brother and father as influences, and although Atticus Finch was a very up-to-date man, Jem and Scout were wild and dirty. Without the influence of a proper mother, Scout didn't know any better. Scout knew her behavior wasn't normal for a girl her age, but she didn't want to be like other girls. Aunt Alexandra tried to persuade Scout to behave like a "decent woman" with proper etiquette. This quote and the way Scout acted normally could lead the reader to infer that Aunt Alexandra was trying to reform Scout's lifestyle and how she attempted to.