Thesis For To Kill A Mockingbird

Zachary Wurl
Mr. Noreen
English
26 February 2023

TKAM Thesis Paper

Harper Lee uses the character Jem to show that growing up often reveals the negative aspects of life. This is shown by Jem’s view of the world gradually declining throughout the book. Scout, though faced with the same problems as Jem doesn’t seem as affected by them as Jem does. This is mostly due to the fact that she doesn’t understand what is going on as Jem does.

Jem matures a lot throughout the book, and this becomes more and more true as the trial goes on. He becomes moody and distant because he is upset by the clear injustice in the trial and on top of it, the adult’s inability to see the issue. While Scout has some understanding of the issue, she doesn’t understand the severity of the situation. She Can’t believe that her dad is worried about the Tom Robinson case because she is so used to his cool and collected attitude. Jem is trying to keep Scout and Aunt Alexandra from fighting so Atticus will have one less thing to worry about. He tries explaining this to Scout but she can’t comprehend it so he snaps back at her saying “That’s because you can’t hold something in mind but a little while,” Jem said. “It’s different with grown folks, we-” (pg. 184). This doesn’t make Scout understand because she is too young to understand it, but it shows that Jem has a deeper level of awareness of the situation and is worried about it.

She doesn’t truly understand the trial and why it is so important. She has a very vague understanding of the fact that a black man is under trial for a crime he didn’t commit. She hears though she doesn’t understand the whole meaning of the trial. She hears about topics that are very inappropriate for her age and that she probably should not be exposed to and Jem knows this and thinks it’s okay for her to stay. He shows this belief in her innocence while talking to reverend