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Examples Of Jem Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people” (Ailey- brainyquote.com) In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee one of the main characters named Jeremy Atticus Finch, referred at as Jem, has a very important coming of age moment. Jem realises that the world is not constantly nice and friendly, he realises that there are people out there with prejudice and racism and this hits him blunt. Jem comes of age in many ways throughout the novel however the biggest event is where he realizes how wrongly people are being treated. This can be understood by the reaction Jem has after it is revealed that Tom Robinson is convicted. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. “It ain't right,” he muttered…” (Lee 242) This shows that Jem is finally of the age where he can make good judgments and even his own decisions. This also shows that he is finally seeing the world as not all good, because there are many bad people and things out there along with the good ones. This moment is when it really all sinks in for him. …show more content…

This is also seen in Jem at the end of chapter 21 while the judge is polling the jury. “I shut my eyes, Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a stab between them.” (240) This is the beginning of this particular coming of age moment. This is when he is realizing what the people have been doing and how they've been treating Tom Robinson. The metaphor present in this quote is a very good one to put in this situation. The metaphor is good because this is one of the first times Jem has been exposed to such prejudice and racism thus shocking

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