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Character Analysis: To Kill A Mockingbird's Roly-Poly

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To Kill A Mockingbird’s Roly-Poly “A roly-poly?” Is probably what most people would be asking themselves right now. But there is no mistake in the title, this essay depicts a scene, including a roly-poly, from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. A novel written in 1960 that details the life of Scout, and her brother, Jem, as they grow up in the small, fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. During their time as children, they undergo a lot of coming of age experiences, because at the time, there is a lot of racism, inequality, and poverty. This is because their lives take place during the Great Depression. During this time, when Scout is about eight, she finds a roly-poly on the floor, and that is where this essay begins; and where the essay focuses on the roly-poly’s symbolism, Scout’s point of view, and the irony in the scene. While they’re many coming of age experiences in the novel, there is a scene where a roly-poly crawls into the house of Scout and Jem, and before Scout, the tomboy, can smash it, Jem stops her. “Feeling sleepy, I decided to end things. My hand was going down on him when Jem spoke. Jem was scowling. It was probably part of the stage he was going through”(273). Jem refused to let Scout smash the roly-poly, stating it never did anything to her. This points to the roly-poly being …show more content…

Jem’s embrace for the insect world really shows this irony, and the roly-poly’s innocence really shows its symbolism. Jem, who always tells Scout to, “not be a girl,” grows to be more “girlish” than Scout, and the defenseless roly-poly certainly shows this well. Jem cares more for more casual and innocent life now, and he is no longer mean to things that don’t bother him. This is a really important lesson actually, more people should learn to be like

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