In Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, when Uncle Jack tells Scout Finch that she is "growing out of
her pants," there are several layers to this comment. First of all, there is the
parallel to the phrase "getting too big for your britches," as noted by other answers.
It indicates that Scout is becoming too stuck up and self
important.
Beyond that, there is the context of the entire
setting and background of the novel. Throughout the novel, Scout ages from six to eight
years old. At this point in her life, she has always been a "tomboy." She has rejected
traditional feminine roles and ideas. She is called the gender ambiguous nickname
"Scout," rather than her very feminine given name, Jean Louise. She loathes everything
ladylike, as demonstrated by her strained relationship with her proper Aunt Alexandra.
But for a young girl to do these things (even today, but especially in the American
South during the era of the Great Depression), she is considered deviant. Because Scout
is very young and has only been raised by a single father, she is often "forgiven" by
relatives and community members for her boyishness and rejection of the feminine.
However, people around her believe that it is time for her to start learning how to be
more of a lady. (A large part of the reason why Aunt Alexandra comes to visit in the
first place is to "help" Scout become a lady.) Uncle Jack's comment basically implies,
"Scout, you are growing up, which means that it is becoming less and less okay for you
to act like a boy. You have to start conforming to societal norms and presenting
yourself publicly as a lady." The "pants" seem to be metaphoric. They represent the
boyish lifestyle that Scout adores and yearns to keep. She struggles against the "dress"
lifestyle of ladyhood. Yet, she is beginning to realize that people around her are
expecting her to act in a way she does not want to act. She does not want to "grow out
of her pants," even as the society she lives in continually insists that she
should.
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