How does the quote, "as I made my way home, I felt very old, but when I looked at the tip of my nose I could see fine misty beads, but looking...

The context of this quote is important in understanding how it shows that Scout has matured during the course of To Kill a Mockingbird. While she was once unthinkingly afraid of Boo Radley, she now understands that he is harmless and, in fact, a kind-hearted man who saved her life and that of her brother, Jem. 

Scout feels old, in part because she now understands that the reality of life is different from the...

The context of this quote is important in understanding how it shows that Scout has matured during the course of To Kill a Mockingbird. While she was once unthinkingly afraid of Boo Radley, she now understands that he is harmless and, in fact, a kind-hearted man who saved her life and that of her brother, Jem. 

Scout feels old, in part because she now understands that the reality of life is different from the way it first seems. Boo, for example, appeared scary to her, but he is in fact a savior. She also feels sad because, as she explains earlier, while Boo has given her and Jem so much, "We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad." In order to rectify this situation, she has walked Boo home and stood on his porch without being afraid. Perhaps some of the "misty beads" she sees on her nose are not from the rain but are tears because she realizes that she has been cruel and misunderstanding of Boo when all he deserved was kindness.