Throughout the story, Jem (taken from the word gem meaning a cherished and prized person) is used by Harper Lee as a representation of courage. In the beginning, Jem’s first act of courage occurs when Jem accepts Dill’s provocation to go and touch the Radley house. In the story, Scout says, “In all his life, Jem has never declined a dare” (Lee 16). This quote shows how Jem would never demur any sort of challenge, even if it involved stupid or childish acts like going to a forbidden place. Scout also shows how Jem even accepted a dare from her to jump off the roof of the house as a kid. An Enotes comment says that “Jem was scared but he overcame that fear and ran up and touched the house.” Even though these two acts were childish, they were brave and bold for someone his age and maturity none the less.
Prior to the spring break of my seventh grade year, I didn’t know how harsh the world could really be. I mean I knew about sickness, violence, death, all that good stuff, but I just sort of blew it off because nothing in my life had happened to where I needed to face those things. When I was 12 during spring break, I was as happy as any child would be on their spring vacation, but one day my parents pulled me and my brother aside and told us some pretty devastating news. They had told us that our grandfather had passed away in a house fire a few days ago. During that moment, I realized how much of an impact something like death could have on someone, and it made me realize that I had to mature faster than I had been. Just like I
Jeremy Finch (Jem) ages from ten to thirteen in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. This substantial fragment in his life displays the many ways he has changed both mentally and physically. His sister, Jean Louise Finch (Scout) has a distinct way of influencing his growth. Jem starts the novel by disagreeing and starting conflict with Scout, however, we realize that towards the end of the book Jem is more loving and helpful towards his sister. The coming of age shown by Jem is also influenced from the amount of experience he has gained. Accordingly, this essay will be discussing the scenes that Jem is involved in, which helps him grow and mature.
Many philosophers say; “The most challenging part of growing up is letting go of what is comfortable, and moving on to something unknown.” This quote strongly applies to the maturity process of Jeremy “Jem” Finch, a lead character in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Jem struggles to understand his role in society as the picturesque facade of his sleepy southern town is destroyed, revealing the darkness underneath the surface. In this coming-of-age story amidst of a race war, Jem navigates the hardships of maturity. He is aided by the guidance of his father, who plays an integral role in the conflict of the small town as the court-appointed lawyer of an African-American man falsely accused of assaulting a white
Being the older sibling, Jem realizes the long-held values of Maycomb, but only as he matures does he understand what it means to have moral integrity. There are many times in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in which the reader can see Jem’s maturity and his moral values. The first time Jem starts to understand moral integrity is when he is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose. After her death, Atticus explains just how much she was going through, and this information had a great impact on Jem. Jem furthers his knowledge of moral integrity during the trial. Jem believes that Atticus and Tom Robinson have won because he knows that the evidence was strong. Atticus ends up losing, which causes Jem to realize how much men will overlook evidence and the truth just to go against an African American. Lastly, Jem understands moral integrity while watching and learning from Atticus. Atticus firmly believes in ideas such as Tom Robinson’s innocence. He never gave up or fell to other men’s beliefs during the time of the trial, before it, or after it.
When you are a child the people around you have a huge impact on the way you grow up and see the world as you get older. For example, in the story To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a young boy named Jem who is son to a lawyer named Atticus. Jem starts off very immature and ignorant because he doesn’t understand the seriousness of peoples actions; as time goes on and he learns more about the people of Maycomb, the small town they live in, this allows him to be more mature and be able to make the right decisions when it comes to the way he treats people and who he associates himself with. He will start to learn how to be a good young man and how to lead himself to respect. Harper Lee shows coming of age in the story
¨It was times like these when I thought my father hated guns and had never been to any wars , was the bravest man ever lived¨ Children grow up, they face difficult problems and they are learning how to grow up and be mature and responsible for their actions in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee it shows how 2 kids that are the main character grew up in the past couple of years. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee She shows how Jem Finch has changed in the last 3 years. In the beginning of the book Jem finch is a childish kid who is very immature and does really care about anything but himself.
While playing the tire game, Scout did not bring the tire back up because the tire stopped in front of the Radley house and she was scared, so Jem had to get it. After getting it, Jem insulted her by saying “Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin”(Lee 50). Jem can have chauvinism at times. He was implying that females were weak and that males are stronger and braver. This shows that Jem has some negative traits as well. Jem felt very superior of himself. While arguing with Scout on how she was antagonizing Aunt Alexandra, Jem said “That’s because you can’t hold something in your mind but a little while.” “It’s different with grown folks, we — ” (Lee 184). Scout narrated in response “His maddening superiority was unbearable these days. He didn’t want to do anything but read and go off by himself. Still, everything he read he passed along to me, but with this difference: formerly, because he thought I’d like it; now, for my edification and instruction” (Lee 184). Jem feels as if he is much more superior and better than Scout just because he is older. This contributes to him acting as more of an adult figure to Scout just like Atticus. This shows Jem has some negative traits as well. Jem sometimes discriminates people like his sister based on gender and
From the start of To Kill a Mockingbird to the end, Jem Finch ages from ten years old to thirteen years old, along with his age his character also alters drastically. Throughout the novel Jem faces a multitudinous amount of social and racial injustices, quite a few of these impact Jem as a result of him being the son of Atticus Finch, who at the time was the only Lawyer residing in Maycomb willing to defend a black man in court. Throughout the course of the novel Jem became proficient in adapting and handling these situations. Eventually, Jem realizes this is how harsh this world is, and steadily begins to lose innocence over the course of the novel.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy- MLK Jr.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that in order to gain empathy one must go through many experiences because the more one morally develops the higher their ability becomes to understand others.
At the beginning “To kill a mocking bird”, Jem was very carefree and untroubled, but throughout the novel, he changed for the worse. Jem was always playing with Scout and Dill without a worry on his little mind until the life of adulthood got to him one day. Jem slowly stopped hanging out with friends, just to begin worrying about harshness of everyone in Maycomb. I believe when everyone began calling Atticus a “nigger lover”, Jem began to get more harsh toward everyone, even his dearest sister, Scout. If scout were to as to play before, Jem would hop right to it and they would go play a game down the street, but now, Jem would give his sister the cold shoulder and tell her to grow up. If Jem would have been left alone to grow in his own mind, he probably would have come out different, but he was messed with by too many people, and began to see the harshness of the
Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem Finch goes through change and his innocence of the world is lost as the book progresses.
Throughout the story, we see dramatic shift in Jem's attributes. In the beginning, Jem is overbearingly bossy and doesn't want anyone to see him with his sister. An example on page 46 shows this. Scout has a piece of gum
Jem, the son of lawyer Atticus, is the embodiment of bravery in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The book focuses on the Finch family through the eyes of Scout finch while her father, Atticus, unsuccessfully tries to prove the innocence of a black man accused of rape. Although Atticus is determined to beat the case and tries his best, Tom Robinson is eventually convicted of the crimes of rape although he did not commit the violent sexual crimes. The book also focuses on the children's obsession with the mysterious Boo Radley, who eventually saves Scout’s brother Jem from being killed. Jem spends most of the novel with a naive but brave and valiant approach to the world. Although his attack by Bob Ewell causes him to reevaluate how he sees