The Evolution of Winthrop's Character in The Music Man

In the movie “The Music Man” Professor Harold Hill inadvertently brings around a positive change in young Winthrop. This is seen through the difference in his behavior before Hill arrives and his behavior after he has gotten to know Hill.
Before Hill arrives, and before Winthrop really gets to know Hill, Winthrop is a rather aloof child. He refuses to say the little girl’s name because it has an “S” in it and he is ashamed of his lisp. He only talks a little to his family and hardly at all to any one else. He is also generally sad and unsociable. He doesn’t want to join the band and he doesn’t play much with other boys. He is also very shy.
As Winthrop spends more time around Hill he begins to loosen up just a little. He grows to like Hill and he warms up to the idea of playing in the band. When the Wells Fargo wagon arrives he surprises the entire town by showing everyone just how much he has changed. He does something that is unusual for him to do; he takes part in the singing of the “Wells Fargo Wagon is Coming Down the Street” song. Once the band instruments are handed out he pleasantly surprises his sister. He tells her in many words, ignoring his lisp, how happy he is to have it and how beautiful it is.
Through these examples it is obvious that in the movie Winthrop changed. This is visible because of the extraordinary difference in the way he behaves before he met Hill and how he acts once he gets to know Hill. There are two main visible changes. One is his previously being almost completely silent and later being quite talkative. The second is his previously being ashamed of his lisp and later simply ignoring it.