Peer Pressure In To Kill A Mockingbird

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When a child starts to go to school, they often start to spend more time with their friends vs their family. Studies show that people copy the peers that they spend the most time with. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the story is narrated by Scout. Scout is a young character who is the daughter of Atticus. In the book, Atticus is shown to be a greater influence on Scout than her friends. In today's society, friends have a greater influence on a person than parents do. People learn often by imitation. According to Vijai P. Sharma, "They adopt many behaviors of their peers in social settings in order to be accepted by their peers." If the parent works a lot, the child would spend more time with their peers. Spending more time with a person can to being more heavily influenced by that person. …show more content…
At a certain age, parents are a smaller part of a child's life. At school, children are more social with people their age. "Teenagers usually choose friends who are like themselves," according to Dena Kemmet in the article, Who is More important to Teens- Parents or Peers? Once a kid attends school, they are surrounded by many influences. Whether positive or negative, these influences affect a child's behavior. Terrance Olsen is a professor of family life. Olsen states that, "Usually, peer pressure invites teens to put a desire to belong ahead of what they feel is right — or even before what they would prefer.” Friends can also influence a child in a positive way. Olsen also believes, "good friends for their children is one of the greatest allies parents can have in fostering a responsible, quality future for their