Ryan Talley
Mrs. Malone
English 9H Period 5
05 March 2023
Jem’s Journey Coming of Age “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view --until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 39). This is what Atticus Finch tells his kids that start their coming of age and worldview in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which takes place in the small fictional town of Maycomb in the 1900s. Although one of the protagonists Jem is fairly young in the novel, his actions and growth significantly show how far he has matured in these years of his life. Throughout the novel, Jem shows many aspects of his coming of age and becoming like his father, but one great example of his development is his view
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One of the best showcases of this is when a mob shows up at the Finch's house to try and lynch Tom Robinson. This is shown when Atticus says “I said go home.” and “Jem [shakes] his head” (Lee 203). Even though Jem disobeys Atticus by staying, Atticus ends up being grateful for this because the kids help de-escalate the situation. This shows Jem standing for what he thinks needs to be done according to his judgment. The outcome of these judgments he is making helps him appreciate Boo Radley and recognizes him as a person too. Jem shows this idea when telling Scout “Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up” recognizing Boo as a normal person (Lee 96 ). Instead of a crazy scary man like the gossip that had been spread said he was. Overall Jem's ideas and standards for himself have increased, proof of this goes as far as Atticus telling Jem that “If you had been on that jury son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man” showing that Atticus trusts in Jem to make decisions. As well as standing up for what he thinks is right morally (Lee 295). Jem's morals that he stands up for show how much he really has matured throughout the
“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.
He realized Boo Radley had no intentions of harm; he just wanted to give the kids some gifts. “Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. And I want to keep it that way”(75) This shows Jem’s perseverance to perform actions that will benefit him in a positive way. Which speaks on the first quote on how he has changed for the better and just wants to be the best person he can be.
Jem was forced to mature after seeing the injustice in the
While Scout is less knowledgeable of the trial, she sees Jem and how “... his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them,”(282). Jem is watching his father go against the beliefs of the majority of Maycomb, while trying to prove an innocent man free of his accused actions. Jem puts himself in Tom’s situation, fully able to comprehend the importance of the case. He takes the pain Tom Robinson must be experiencing into himself, knowing how this verdict is changing someone’s life forever. Jem’s mature knowledge and awareness makes him a compassionate person, which is what Atticus had always aspired for his son to be.
Jem saw Atticus as a perfect father figure and a perfect person. As the story went on Jem slowly started to realize that Atticus isn’t a perfect person like he had thought. Jem learning more about how people like his father and sister aren’t perfect was a good part of him maturing and understanding people better and sees things differently from other people's point of view. Him seeing people that he is with everyday and knows who they are makes it easier for him to realize different things about other people and different situations they could be in that are different from him and his family. Jem learned that you can’t judge people before you know them or understand why they do something.
Jem had thought that the Maycomb population was “good folk” and confidently believed that the community members would do the right thing and let Tom Robinson go (Lee 184). However, to Jem’s surprise, most of the jury had voted against Tom Robinson, even though evidence that he was innocent was undeniable. This leads Jem to start questioning the morality of Maycomb and shows Jem how prejudiced and racist Maycomb truly was, essentially creating a loss of innocence in Jem. Due to the results of this court case, Jem starts to lose his trust in people and learns that, in reality, Maycomb was a racist and biased society. Therefore, Jem’s loss of trust in the community and the question of morality edges him to face the reality of how America is in the 1930s, causing him to mature from childhood to
In the early onset of the story, Jem has a child-like expectation for what people act like and should act like. Jem, just like Scout, experienced an immense loss as he failed to grapple with the inescapable truth of Tom Robinson’s fate (“his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail”) (Lee
Jems opinion on life changes a lot through the Tom Robinson case. He learns that people aren't treated equally just by the color of their skin. From this quote it shows just how much Jem cares about people's equality and how he's maturing. After the case and Tom Robinson's death Jem doesn't do anything to anybody or anything that doesn't deserve it. Like this incident in the story, A rolly polly has crawled in the house by Scouts bed she was going to smash it
When Atticus find out that Jem, Scout, and Dill followed him into town, he demands that they go home, but Jem refuses: “We were accustomed to prompt, if not always cheerful acquiescence to Atticus‘s instructions, but from the way he stood Jem was not thinking of budging,” (203). Jem is maturing, and he is starting to understand the situation that Atticus is in because of his defense of Tom Robinson. While he would normally obey Atticus, he realizes that protecting his father against the lynch mob is more important. Jem displays his courage even in his stance, emphasizing that he is doing what he thinks is right in spite of the challenges he faces. As Scout interacts with the mob, Atticus continues to demand that the children go home: “‘Atticus stood trying to make Jem mind him.
Jem is in disbelief of how they could come to the verdict even after Atticus presented substantial evidence. He is very upset when he asks “How could they do it, how could they?” (Lee, 213) This quote shows that Jem feels sorry for Tom and is critical of the jury's discrimination. Jem exhibiting this behavior shows that he is now becoming aware of issues that someone his age might not think twice
Jem was mature enough to then start to create his independent values, which were complementary to Atticus’s and Harper Lee’s. During the case of Tom Robinson, Jem said, “Doesn’t make it right... You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that—you can’t” (224). Showing that he views this case based on fact, not opinion. After the verdict turned up guilty, Jem cried on the way home.
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.
Jem proves this when he deals with situations differently, by standing up for what he believed to be right, or when he confronts a bitter truth in a painful manner. His word choice and manner of speaking demonstrate his superiority and his desire to act more refined. These factors are demonstrated as he changes his nature and personality. Jem’s change from being a naive child to a knowledgeable adolescent is similar to Laura Ingalls initially being a carefree youngster and later turning into a sensible, indefatigable youth. The gradual maturity of both characters influenced their respective books deeply.
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout 's perception of courage drastically changes their behavior as they mature. They learn a lot about courage throughout the novel from their father Atticus and what they learn from him influences their choices and opinions. Although Jem is older than Scout, they both experience change in their behavior. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is still a young boy. He is defiant towards Atticus, he plays all the usual childhood games with Scout and Dill, and he engages in the younger children’s obsession with Boo Radley.
As Jem starts to mature, his body language and use of words also start to show his overall maturity and his loss of innocence. Specifically, he acts exactly like his father,