Essay #11

Ryan

1/16/10

8 English

Mr. H. Salsich

Essay #11

Growth

You may not realize it, but growth appears everywhere in the world, all the time. It is inescapable. You can’t out run it, you can’t hide from it you can only face it. Growth can change the way people act, the way people think, and even the things that people like.

Growth even appears in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. It appears in almost every chapter too, there is usually something that changes the way a character acts. Something that changed the character, Scout, was when Calpurnia took her and Jem to the church. They were confronted by a woman who was very hostile to them. Scout think about Cal differently because a new side of her was shown that night. Jem also faced growth when Atticus, his father, made him read to Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose was very nasty to Jem and Scout for a long time, but then always fell asleep. Eventually, she passed away and Atticus explained that she was in such great pain, that the only way she could deal with the pain was to be so mean. This must have touched Jem, and taught him how much sheer pain one person can have to go through in life. These are only two examples of how often growth occurs.

A second place where growth appears is in my own life. Although it may not seem like it, I am always changing, weather I am getting more mature, or weather I am getting smarter. Something that really made me grow in maturity was when my great-grandfather, Angelo, died. He was always very funny and it seemed like there was nothing he hadn’t done in his life. When he passed away, I realized that nobody lives forever, and that nothing lasts forever. Something that changed the way that I act, was when I moved for the first time. In the beginning, I was very uncomfortable in the new house, but after a month or two, I started to grow accustomed to it. Now, I feel that if I ever move again, I will not be so uncomfortable at first. These are two of the many times that I have grown as a person, and there will definitely be many more.

Jem and Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird have experienced growth, and so have I. A lot of the time when change occurs, people don’t even notice. Growth can also happen in many different ways, a person could grow mentally, a person could change in maturity, and in a multitude other ways. Growth is everywhere, and there is not stopping it.