A book with small fragments of adventure, suspense, tension, purity, and all-round simplicity is how I would describe the book How to kill a mockingbird by Harper lee. The book gave a feeling of purity and innocence when the author described the small adventured Scout, Dill and Jem had together, yes, their little adventures sometimes caused trouble, but nonetheless were done with no real bad intention, and showed the youthfulness, curiosity, and innocence of young kids. But as time goes on you notice one of the main characters begins to change, could it be that this character is maturing, growing, and becoming more aware. This book is centered about the growth of one’s brain, how children go from seeing everything as perfect and pure to them noticing the hardships and utter horridness of life that is presented to them in the world. …show more content…
In the beginning of the book it was described that he would play, fun, and creative games with his sister, and Dill. Jem always saw their little town in a very simple way, everyone did what they could, to live an ordinary life, and everyone made their living in a reasonable way. Jem did however find one person to be different from the rest. Boo Radley, a very strange male that we do not get much information about until the end of the book when some light is shared with us that helps us deeply understand Boo Radley’s connection with the kids. As time went on Jem began to change from his normal self, as Scout would explain he became more reserved ,and would not like to hang around with her or other people, he began to feel superior when comparing himself to her as if the few years he had over her gave him the ability to be multiple times smarter than her. In the following paragraphs, I will explain the growth Jem experienced and how he began to see the impurity of his
Mature. The definition of mature is; one that is fully developed physically; fully-grown. To me, mature means you are able to watch out for yourself and others, you are able to have manners, and you are reliable as well as responsible. Mature doesn’t have an age to it. There are many kids who are very young, for example, six or seven, who are mature. Others don’t mature until they are about thirteen or fourteen. It really just depends on the background of that individual. Maturity all ties into the changes that Scout undergoes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.
He constantly makes or doesn’t make certain decisions in the hopes that his connection to others will remain as good as possible. He doesn’t perform a single action without thinking about how it makes others feel or the impression he gives about himself. The best example of this is the relationship he has with his father. Regarding the night that Jem’s curiosity drove him to sneak behind the Radley house, Scout wants to inform their father of the events that occurred. In response, Jem says, “‘I—it’s like this, Scout,’ he muttered. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way’” (Lee 75). Here, Jem shows his driving ambition to be seen as an admirable son in the eyes of his father. While this choice may also present a sense of dishonesty, it is later shown that Jem regretted disturbing the Radley home in the first place when he says, “‘I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside’” (Lee 304). So, even though he’s concerned with the way that others think of him, the way he accomplishes this is to make changes to himself for the better. This is shown during the trial as well. When Jem supports Tom Robinson, whether it is for the approval of his father, the black community, or even himself, the motive doesn’t necessarily matter, so long as he actually
Before, Jem would always be Scout’s playmate but now he tells her to “stop pestering him” and that she should start “bein’ a girl and acting right”. Jem now likes to be kept alone and feels as if Scout is a lot more childish than he had realized.
For instance, Jem says, “It showed Atticus barefoot in short pants, chained to a desk: he was diligently writing on a slate while frivolous-looking girls yelled, “Yoo-hoo!” at him. That's a compliment, he spends his time doin’ things that wouldn't get done if nobody did ‘em”’ (pg. 116). Jem is supporting Atticus through this unfortunate event. I think Jem is very thoughtful and considerate by making his father feel better about the situation. I thought Jem was more self centered than he actually is. I believe that the reason Jem is maturing is because all of the bad things that have happened to him at only 12 years old. Conflict proves the theme by Jem’s actions towards
Jem refuses to admit it, but he is terrified of Boo and the horror stories that lurk around him. When Dill challenges him to knock on the doors of the Radley Place, he unsurprisingly follows through because “he loved his honor more than his head” (13). The importance of preserving his reputation and pride overpowers his fear. After the incident, Jem becomes more assertive and constantly boasts about his accomplished feat; he believes that it was an act of bravery, conquering something that no one else dared to do. Dill incessantly tests Jem’s willingness to take on new risks and the Boo Radley Game is invented. The children mock Boo in front of the entire town on a daily basis, and Jem believes he is proving a point by doing a harmless, comical thing. Atticus catches them in the action, yet “[he] hasn’t said [they] couldn’t, therefore [they] could...Jem had thought of a way around it” (41). Like most kids, Jem is brutally honest and goes off of what he hears and what is in plain sight. His doings are prompted by the innocence he still has as well as his lack of exposure to the darker sides of the world. He is unable to make higher-level connections or construct advanced ideas about his environment yet, showing that he is no more mature than the next child.
At the beginning, I believe Jem was on level 1 of the KSOMD ( Kohlberg stage of moral development). To prove this statement there was the time in the novel when Narrator/Scout talks about the time Dill dared Jem to touch the Radley’s house in chapter one. He tries to convince Dill not not make him do it, fearing that he may get in trouble, but in the end, he ends up accepting it. The reason why was “he has never denied a dare” and he didn’t want to start now.. This shows, that he tries to follow the rules, but sometimes chooses self reward over the rules (reward of being known to never deny dares), two stages in level one of KSOMD. As the story continues, he changes to level two when he tells Dill that he is going to tell Atticus that he ran away. This shows, that he wants Dill to learn his lesson. He also wants to try to take more responsibility over the
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that deals with racial tensions in the 1930s and how the kids of a white lawyer deal with the prejudice and racism in their small Deep Southern town as he defends a black man wrongly accused of rape. Through the painful summer in which the case is prosecuted, Jem and Scout both mature, each in different ways. One of the characters that helps Scout to mature in particular is Boo Radley, the town’s reclusive, ghost-like phantom that all the children are scared of. Boo helps Scout to mature both directly and indirectly, both through his presence and his actions. Throughout the story, Scout hears a lot of gossip about Boo Radley, and she thinks of him as an intimidating nocturnal creature. However, there are several events that help Scout to fully understand that Boo, and and every person, is not what he seems, therefore helping her to mature.
As the novel progresses, both Jem and Scout are shown to mature, this is due to "To Kill A Mockingbird" being a bildungsroman novel. Through this coming of age process, we are actually shown Jem’s new found maturity enabling him to find empathy and acceptance regarding the Boo Radley myths, as he finally took his father’s advice to “climb into someone else’s skin and walk around in it” when he was explaining to Scout his epiphany that he “[is] beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut in his house all this time. It’s because he wants to stay inside.”
Jems mental changes act as a sort of adhesive to hummaily hold all of the other changes his body is reacting to. It's the one thing that merges into every little crook and cranny it may find is Jem's ‘Puberty’ soul document. Jem has been very intelligent since day, or page, one. Yet he seems to over think things more, rather than take his time. That is what changes immensely, his ability to merge his analytical mind with a newly grown social mind. Jem does this on few, yet important parts in Lee's novel. Originally, Jem does not understand his mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. Over time after a few tree, tire , and scripted events, Jem becomes the first out of the Entire Maycomb county to understand who the real Boo Radley is. This was a positive move toward Boo, that actually lead to Him saving Jeremy and Scouts life's “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up . . . it’s because he wants to stay inside.”(Lee.304) Jem begins to combine what analytical, and social knowledge he has gained. Jem, unknowingly starts to develope an adult ‘Coming of Age’ brain.
Jem’s relationship with Scout changes as he matures in the story. He goes from a fellow conspirator and playmate for his sister to her protector, resembling Atticus more and more with every chapter. In chapter 4, they are playing a game enacting what they perceive Boo Radley to be like. Atticus interrupts the game and inquires whether the game was about the Radley’s or not. Jem lies, saying no in response. In page 40, Scout yells in confusion and Jem remarks, “Shut up! He’s gone in the living room; he can hear us in there.” This shows his mischievous behaviour and the fact that he is still
Leading the reader to the realisation that maturity is one theme the author wants to express, is the presentation of maturity in various shapes and forms. The way Scout describes Jem as “[someone who] had acquired a set of values” (Lee 153) implies the evolution which Jem was subjected to. As it is deductible by Jem’s reaction to the news of Mrs Dubose’s death, how “[he] buried his face in Atticus’s shirt” (Lee 148) and cried, the event impacted Jem enormously, which consequently is the reason of his sudden growth. Additionally, it is possible to see Jem maturing by him breaking “the remaining code of [Scout, Dill and Jem’s] childhood” (Lee 187) and telling Atticus about Dill running from his house. Also how he separates himself from Dill and
In addition to Jem’s childish, protective, and playful nature- he is also scheming and possesses a clever mind. He demonstrates this with his knack for avoiding conflict, finding loopholes in regards to the rules Atticus has set for him and Scout, and luring out Boo Radley. This mischievousness sometimes causes Jem to be a troublemaker. Despite his cunning nature- as the novel progresses, Jem changes and develops into a more mature and responsible character as
In addition, Jem abandons all of his childish morals: “Jem looked the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. ‘Atticus,’ his voice was distant, ‘can you come here a minute, sir?’” (p.187-188). Dill, Jem and Scout’s best friend, ran away from his home and came to the Finch’s house. Jem has broken “the remaining code of our childhood” by telling Atticus about Dill, rather than keeping it a secret. He has matured past his childhood years, and realizes that sometimes it is best to involve adults.
Jem had changed throughout the story from acting like a child and doing things that children do to becoming more mature and taking part in the
After doing these childish games for a while, Jem starts to grow up. One Quote to prove this is when Scout says, “ Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose on them on me: several times he went so far as to tell me what to do,” (131). This proves Jem