Maturation In To Kill A Mockingbird

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.

Jem is growing up and almost thirteen. He is starting to act like a teenager because he is very hungry, moody, and always telling Scout to leave him alone. While he is excited to become more mature, Scout is still a child. (Coming of Age.) Calpurnia also calls him “Mister Jem.” and treats him more like an adult. Scout is upset that her brother pushes her away and won’t play with her anymore. She asks questions about his strange behavior and doesn’t get why he acts like he does. She will go through these changes when she is older but since she is still so young, it’s hard to understand his

Courage is not strength or skill, it’s simply standing up for what you believe in and what is right. This is the theme that was enrolled after Jem destroys Mrs.Dubose’s camellias and after she died in chapter 11. This passage also reveals Jem’s coming of age moment. After using conflict, symbolism, and point of view, Harper Lee was able to connect the theme with Jems coming of age moment.

When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate. Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout learn valuable life lessons

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. 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 but then Jem says, “Don't do that, Scout. Set him on the back steps (Lee 319). After Jem says that Scout asks him why he didn't want her to smash it and Jem says, “Because they don’t bother you, Jem answered in the darkness. He had turned out his reading light.” (Lee 320). These quotes are showing that after the case Jem realizes that you shouldn't hurt things that haven't done anything to

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,

After Tom Robinson’s verdict was guilty, Jem started to throw a fit because he knew that everyone knew Tom was innocent but didn’t understand that white men basically always won in court. He realized with his age that everyone says people are equal but that’s false. Through Jem’s life lesson, he loses his innocence by him seeing the world for how it truly is and not a perfect as he thought it was when he was a kid. This loss of innocence shows coming of age as Jem is now aware of the world around.

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 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

To begin with, Jem exhibits his maturity through his actions. Lee demonstrates Jem’s advancing age when he tells Atticus about Dill hiding in their house. Jem does this against his friends’ wishes; Scout even

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.

Jem’s personality underwent significant changes when he turned twelve years old. His new behavior was noticed by Scout, who described him as,”...Difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody”(Lee, 131). These are certainly signs that he is beginning to mature. He is said to have “..maddening wisdom…”(Lee 133) as Scout put it. He seems to know a lot more than he did in the

As Nelson Mandela wisely said “ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” The story centers around the Finch family and the lessons that both Jem and Scout Finch learn as their father defends a black man accused of rape. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we see the idea of true courage reflected in Jem Finch’s journey. With her words, Harper Lee paints a picture of what true courage as it is, and Jem Finch takes this lesson to heart as he sees examples of true courage in his life.

Jem, a young and smart boy develops and matures through many unique situations in the novel. Jem is exposed to the harsh belief, judgement and circumstances of the court at a very young age. Following his father, Jem involves himself in the trial between Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell yet takes Tom’s side due to his father's involvement. Jem slowly loses faith in the justice system and is faced with a loss of innocence as explained by Scout“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” (212). Jem begins to take his anger out on Scout and uses what he deems maturity against Scout’s lack of as “He slapped me and I tried another left, but a punch in the stomach sent me sprawling on the floor” (138). Jem is a mockingbird because in his attempt to civilize situations and maturely fight for justice, he loses his

The verdict of Tom Robinson’s case made young Jem despondent because he was so sure that the jury would have some some discretion and his father would win the case and felt "it ain't right" when they were told he was guilty (284). Jem couldn't wrap his head around about the idea of how the zealot jury's judgement is still clouded by the social norms of society even though there was evidence to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence. As he talks about the verdict of the case with Ms. Maudie he shares how his view of people changed. He "always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they seemed like" (288). Jem's view of his great infallible town was crushed because of the case. He is coming to the age of understanding the dark side of society.

As verbalized by the diarist Anne Frank herself, “‘Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands’” (Goodreads 1). Coming of age is a process depicted through movies and novels through the Bildungsroman plot line. The protagonist, in this form of a plot line, has to face society and its difficulties. The protagonist inclines to have an emotional loss, which triggers the commencement of the journey itself. The story tends to end on the main character being enlightened or also enlightening the society around him/herself. Although To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, and Pleasantville have elements that may suppose the antipode, they are all an example of a Bildungsroman plot because of their connection to the coming of age.