Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she tackles social concerns. This story is about a black man named Tom Robinson, who was wrongly accused of rape by the Ewells. Atticus, the best lawyer in Maycomb, was appointed to take the case as a result him and kids had to take a lot of abuse. Harper Lee’s father was a lawyer so she chose to base Atticus off him. Lee creates Atticus as a just citizen to portray social concern, racism, in Maycomb. Lee then creates a completely different charter from Atticus: Bob Ewell. He’s a racist and ignorant man, who uses all the privileges of being white, and he is an antagonist, showing the social concern of racism. This force Jem to mature from a child to a young man.
Firstly, Lee creates Atticus as a just citizen to portray to social concern,
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When he tells Scout about Boo Radley he uses his childish imagination to come up with a picture of Boo“ Boo was about six and a half feet tall, judging from his tracks: he dined on raw squirrels and any cat he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained”(13). Jem uses his childish imagination to come up with an image for Boo. He guesses his height after seeing the track Dill showed him. He says that Boo eats raw squirrels and any cat he would catch and this is how any child would imagine a phantom. Later in the text, he show maturity when scout was going to kill the bug. Jem stops her “because they don’t bother you”(300). Here Jem shows maturity by stopping scout from killing the bug as the bug has don nothing to scout. Killing it would be like killing a Mockingbird. Since Jem has seen Tom Robinson unfairly lose the case, Jem doesn’t want anything like that to happen to anyone. By stopping scout from doing this injustice, he transform into a dynamic character. Jem was forced to mature after seeing the injustice in the
Atticus is a nice and outgoing person who is trying to make a change in the town. He is a middle-aged man who lives in the suburbs. Who is also one of the finest lawyers in towns and is good at what he does. “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” … (Lee 90)
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem has changed the most throughout the novel. “ I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growing up. He’s gonna want to be off to himself a lot now, doin’ whatever boys do,so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome.” Even Calpurnia notices that Jem is becoming a young man, and he needs his own space to do what older boys do. Scout doesn’t understand that Jem is going to go off on his own because its apart of growing up.
Scout quickly assumed it was Boo Radley, because he hasn't come out of his house in years. People have told rumors about how he looks and how he is mentally unstable. She wasn’t sure if he enjoyed what they were doing, or was laughing maniacally like a mad man. “Jem held the bottom wire; Dill and I rolled through and were halfway to the shelter of the schoolyard’s solitary oak when we sensed that Jem was not with us. We ran back and forth and found him struggling in the fence, kicking his pants off to get loose, He ran to the oak tree in his shorts.”(pg
“Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome” (Parks, Rosa). To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee takes place in a small southern town in sleepy Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression. Scout Finch lives with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus who is a prominent lawyer and a widow. Scout and Jem spend their time going to school and their summer spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor Boo Radley who never comes out the house.
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
After that Jem starts to mature. This is when he stops saying he’s too old for stuff and actually meaning he’s too old to be doing childish acts. He starts doing courteous actions to help other people. I thought it was almost mature of Jem and scout to ask questions when they go to negro church which shows they want to learn about what’s going on in society. He starts changing the way he sees things in society.
Jem starts to mature the most after the case. His [Jem’s] face was streaked with angry tears as we make our way through the cheerful crowd. “It ain't’ right," he muttered all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting… “It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem. No son, it’s not right.” We walked home.
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.
In the beginning, Jem was introduced as a caring and nice 10 year old boy who loved playing games with his younger sister Scout and best friend Dill. As the year goes by, he slowly matures with lessons that Atticus has taught him. According to Scout, Jem has never declined a dare in all his life. This proves that, Jem doesn’t think before he acts. At first, Jem doesn’t put himself in other people’s shoes but due to all the prejudice that’s been happening in Maycomb, he comes to a realization of why Boo Radley stays in the house.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem grows from a little boy to an intelligent young man. Throughout the book, he discerns many things that shape his personality. As Jem grows, he learns how bad society is and that not everyone is perfect. Fortunately for Jem, this ends up helping him and he finds out that Atticus is a hero and that he should look up to Atticus. Through Atticus and the trial, Jem loses his innocence by learning about prejudice, bravery, and that the justice system is crippled.
Harper Lee’s purpose in describing Atticus the way he does in To Kill A Mockingbird is directly used to convey the theme in the story. As Atticus is described as being one who does not judge or think differently about people based on their race, gender, or religious beliefs it is used by the author to establish the theme of innocence. This comes as Atticus is just so kind to everyone around him, no matter their background, it even has Miss Maudie even talking about him as being just so consistent and holding no grudges and due to the author making Atticus be seen this way it shows off the theme of innocence as when Atticus will defend a black man in court and Scout gets picked on at school she does not understand why due to her innocence. She
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
I made the mistake of reading the first Little House on the Prairie book once again after finishing the series. It was just so hard to believe that the distinguished Laura Ingalls Wilder was once a naughty five-year-old, always secondary to her flawless older sister. This transformation made me realize that in reality or literature, characters change as they grow. Their change depends on the events taking place in the book, which explains how and why Laura Ingalls rose up to be the head of the family when her older sister was unable to do so. Many literary works portray growth or refinement of certain characters; physically, mentally, or emotionally.
As the novel progresses, Jem becomes less defiant and more understanding of adults. Jem witnesses the physical and moral courage of his father before and during the trial of
The best teacher is always experience. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem, one of the main characters, undergoes many significant personality changes. Jem’s character changes through several experiences, the most prevalent of those being when Jem turns twelve, when he destroys Mrs.Dubose’s flower bed, and when he learns of the town’s racial bias. Jem’s personality underwent significant changes when he turned twelve years old. His new behavior was noticed by Scout, who described him as,”...