In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader witnesses many characters mature and become more aware of what happens in the small town of Maycomb County. Throughout the book changes happen and it changes character’s lives , such Jem. Changes happen in life which can lead to the loss of childhood innocence. Experiences form in our minds and this happened to Jem in To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the book, Jem had to grow up and experienced things that caused him to grow up and this led to his transition to adulthood.
An example of Jem’s progression to adulthood, is when he wants to make Boo Radley come out of his house. In the book it says, “He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out…” (3). This evidence shows that when Dill proposed the idea of making Boo Radley come out, Jem was still ignorant to the Maycomb county’s problems. The evidence also proves that Jem wasn’t aware of what could happen when they planned to make Boo come out. Jem wasn’t really aware to why Boo might actually want to stay inside away from the problems of Maycomb. Another quote says, “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful.” (18). As this evidence suggests, that Jem hadn’t yet matured and never took the time to consider why Boo Radley stayed inside. This shows that he wasn’t really mature enough and is still in the
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
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.
Maturing is something everyone goes through in life whether you go through it early or a little later in life. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows a lot about maturing. Growing up in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama where life was a lot more different from today, you mature much different and in different ways. Jem is one person who matures through the whole story and makes realizations about people around him, including his dad, Tom Robinson, and Mrs. Dubose. Jem goes into the story thinking his dad is just some old man but as he gets older, he realizes there is more to his dad.
Jem and Scout learn many valuable life lessons throughout the novel and although they “grow up” at a much faster rate than other children in Maycomb, they will become people that have lots of wisdom and have been exposed to the real world. The experiences that the children have throughout their childhood help them solve problems, think wisely, and shape their
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many characters are victims of the harsh conditions of Maycomb County. Often those who are seen to be metaphorical mockingbirds are punished the most. A mockingbird is one who only wants and attempts to do good. Characters such as Boo Radley, Jem Finch and Tom Robinson are exemplars of mockingbirds in Maycomb. In the novel it is explained by Atticus that killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do not do anything to harm to us like nesting in corncribs, or eating up the gardens, they only sing for us.
'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 separate stab between them… (Lee 211). Jem and Scout Finch from the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Arnold Spirit (Junior) from The Absolutely True Diary by Sherman Alexie all show that innocence is lost when compassion is found. In To Kill A Mockingbird, both Jem and Scout show innocence.
16). When Jem was young, he saw Boo Radley as this monstrous, savage, animalistic type character. Jem later recalls that he’s only met the man once when he was about the age of a toddler, so this just shows that Jem’s description of Boo is probably just his imagination. When Jem is older, he attends the Tom Robinson trial with Scout and Dill. At the end of the trial, Jem experiences a coming of age in that he now knows how adults function in the society in Maycomb.
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.
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.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about two kids, Jem and Scout, and their childhood in their small town Maycomb, Alabama. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout were two innocent kids playing in the summer sun, until school came along. Jem was about twelve throughout the novel and Scout was eight, and considering that Jem was twelve in the novel, he was changing. During the middle of the novel a rape trial occurred, which included a black man being accused by a white woman of first-degree rape. Atticus, the kid’s father was defending the african american man; Tom Robinson.
For example, Jem Finch, the gullible child who believed his society was flawless, isn’t the same person by the end of the novel. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates Jem’s maturity through his behavior and speech. 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.
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
Those experience made him realize he has to grow up and become a better person. The reader now understands that Jem learned to become mature and came of age with the help of his surroundings and what he has experienced with the neighborhood and his
The Mockingbird Spirit of Innocence How do you define innocence? Is there someone out in the world who is purely innocent? To understand innocence you should look at what a mockingbird does, because all they do is sing. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
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,