To Kill A Mockingbird How Has Jem Changed

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The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about two kids, Jem and Scout, and their childhood in their small town Maycomb, Alabama. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout were two innocent kids playing in the summer sun, until school came along. Jem was about twelve throughout the novel and Scout was eight, and considering that Jem was twelve in the novel, he was changing. During the middle of the novel a rape trial occurred, which included a black man being accused by a white woman of first-degree rape. Atticus, the kid’s father was defending the african american man; Tom Robinson. Jem was lost in society throughout this part of the novel, yet towards the end of the novel he had learned more to understand his community. At the …show more content…

There were many personally impactful events happening in the town, like the rape trial, a neighbor’s house burning down, and new opinions coming to light. Jem could have learned a great deal from this because he was such a big part of society considering his dad was the lawyer for a black man, and he also could have been accused for killing Bob Ewell. As Atticus says in the novel, “‘Heck, ...‘If this things hushed up it’ll be a simple denial to Jem of the way I’ve tried to raise him” (Lee 314). Atticus was watching out for Jem because he didn 't want for him to be treated differently, he knew he was changing and was starting to understand what happened to Boo Radley. Boo was seen as a reckless child, so that 's how he got his reputation, and Atticus doesn’t want them to be seen in a bad way. The town already sees the Finch’s as a odd family because Atticus defends African Americans, so he didn 't want that to happen to Jem. A result of these events Jem developed to become more …show more content…

In the beginning of the novel, he was becoming reckless, and towards the middle and end of the novel, he was more mature. As Jem saw what it was like to be a gentleman from his father, he developed and was teaching Scout about these findings. In the novel it says, “Naw, Scout, it’s something you wouldnt understand. Atticus is real old, but I wouldn 't care if he couldn 't do anything- I wouldn 't care if he couldn 't do a blessed thing” (Lee 107). This quote reflects Jem maturing because he was teaching Scout about what growing up was really like to grow up. As Jem was learning he also felt he had the responsibility to take care of Scout as their dad is worried about the trial. For these reasons Jem has become more of an adult and lost his childish curiosity and became a teacher for

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