How Does Jem Change Throughout The Novel

The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself

There are many examples on how Scout, Dill, and Jem fight Maycomb's views on racism. Some people in Scout’s own family are racist. Francis is racist, since he called Atticus the N word, and many of Scout’s other family members are racist. This can be inferred on page 110, when Francis explains to Scout, “I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family” (Lee, 110). This refers to Atticus loving African Americans. Scout protects her view of Atticus by punching Francis in the jaw before she is subdued by uncle Jack. Dill believed that “it ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do em that way” (266). This refers to the way the attorney for Bob Ewell, Mr. Gilmer, treated Tom as if he is inferior to him. He talks to him in a demeaning way, which is not a proper for someone to act, especially in court. Other people, like Jem, also talk about the many flaws of the court system.

In this scenario, the jury that determined Tom Robinson’s guiltiness represents the Maycomb community as a whole, as the members would be randomly selected from the county. This means that Maycomb’s view overall towards the black population is negative and full of prejudice. Jem, however, highly disagrees with the outcome of the trial, making him one of the few outliers in the community. To him, it is obvious that Robinson was convicted purely because of his race due to the evidence that was given in the trial. He believes that this is unacceptable and that everyone deserves a fair trial. This moral disagreement that Jem has with society is what sparks the heart of the book, and shows his maturity and understanding of other people.

During the process of the trial, Jem experiences his coming of age and lost innocence moment by opening his eyes to the racism he is constantly surrounded by. When Tom Robinson lost the trial, Jem instantly matured and realized how racism in Maycomb was the only reason Tom lost. After Tom was declared guilty, the kids walked with Atticus, “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’” (Lee, 1960, p. 284). Throughout the entirety of the trial, Jem was blinded by his innocence and thought there was no possible way that Tom could lose the trial. It was the moment when the jury declared Tom Robinson guilty that Jem lost his innocence and started opening his eyes to the world. This quote illustrates how frustrated Jem was by the unfairness of the trial. Jem now understands the only reason Tom Robinson lost the trial was because of his skin color. Due to his young age, he had not yet succumb to the disease of Maycomb and realized racism is not right. Furthermore, when Tom Robinson lost the trial, Jem’s perspective of Maycomb changed Jem is left to understand the reality of people’s biased opinions. When talking to Miss Maudie, Jem described to her, “‘It’s like bein’ a caterpillar in a

The book we have been reading in class has three main characters that develop over time. There's Atticus the dad, scout the daughter of Atticus, and jem the oldest sibling whose father is Atticus. The story gives the base for every character's attitude and feelings and as the story goes on.Jem for example, starts off as a 10 year old and by the end he's 13 and in those 3 years you see a great change. He shows that he's smart for his age, long temper, and very caring

Before Atticus shot the rabid dog, Jem and Scout, as well as the reader had a difficult time understanding Atticus and his personal values. After the dog is shot, Jem and Scout realize that Atticus hides some of his talents for personal reasons. His background sheds light on the overall development of his character as well as goes hand in hand with the development of Maycomb itself.The town of Maycomb can get trapped in a recurring cycle of habits and ignorance that are usually either carried out by the people, or by individuals that demonstrate habitual behavior. For example, while talking to Jem, Atticus exclaims, “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep” (Lee 213). In the above example, Atticus is referring to how the jury convicted Tom Robinson despite clear evidence suggesting inevitably otherwise. The fact that the people on the jury convicted Tom, merely because of his race, shows that they are demonstrating negative habitual behavior as well as ignorance. The people’s instinctive racial discrimination parallels the way in which, despite there being movements against it, Maycomb is still segregated into multiple parts. In fact, the town's area for African Americans is entirely separate from the city itself. The way in which the

Atticus decides to take on a highly controversial case in Maycomb, where Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old white female, accuses Tom Robinson, a black man in his thirties, of rapeing her. During the trial, Mayella, Bob, and the sheriff state that Robinson hit her on the right side of her face; however, Atticus contradicts the Ewell’s story by showing the jury that Tom Robinson only has one useful hand. Jem then whispers, ‘We’ve got him’” (Lee 202). Although, Maycomb’s society would never allow for Tom Robinson to win the trail, Jem’s innocent perspective enables him to believe that race does not come before the facts. Shortly after the trial, Jem says, “‘Doesn’t make it right. You can’t just convict a man on evidence like that-—you can’t’” (Lee 252). Jem displays an understanding of the racism and divisions in society within Maycomb in this quote. He knows that the conviction of Tom Robinson is bias and that the treatment of all blacks is unfair. Jem shows moral growth in this quote and has a more mature mindset about equality than most of the folks in Maycomb.

After watching the trial, Jem saw that the people of Maycomb were being unjust to Tom Robinson and giving the Ewells an unfair advantage. “There’s something in this world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair even if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a black man’s word against a white man’s, the white man always wins.” (pg. 117) Jem knows that everyone should be treated fairly. When he was younger he did not understand why this was. Now, he is now exposed to the amount of racism that the South has. Atticus has taught him to stay strong through the tough times and to always treat people with respect no matter the color of his skin. Towards the end of the trial Jem was sure that Atticus and Tom Robinson had won the case. However, the rest of Maycomb was on Mayella and Mr. Ewell’s side which made him very frustrated. “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, all the way to the corner square where we found atticus waiting.” (pg. 113) He knows it’s not right to not believe a man’s word because of the color of his skin.

Tom Robinson’s trial was a hard one to watch, but it was so intriguing for the kids. Jem, Dill, and Scout just had to watch, so they left their house without permission to go see their dad defend Tom Robinson against Mayella Ewell. Jem thought that Atticus had a good chance at winning due to his cross-examination questions and the evidence he had. Once all of the jury’s votes came in unanimously as guilty, Jem started to realize what a twisted thing racism was. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty … guilty… guilty...guilty” I peeked over 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 282). This quote really shows that Jem cares deeply for the trial and Tom Robinson. He does not understand why people are so rude to black people just because of skin color and he just wants everything to be equal. “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” (Lee 284). Jem’s anger reflected the unfairness towards Tom Robinson and the fact that justice was not served. During the trial Jem never seemed too phased by Bob Ewell’s attorney Mr. Gilmer clearly showing that Tom was worthless, because he thought that his dad was a

Jem and Scout’s relationship together is unbelievably strong. We find that Jem is extremely protective over his little sister and would do anything to stop her from getting hurt. Jem becomes more mature throughout the novel as you can tell when Tom Robinson is in court he cries and also he doesn’t want to play with his little sister but he will still do anything and everything he can for his little sister they have an unbreakable bond. She always wants his to play but he just goes outside and watches her and protects her. They both mature a lot throughout the novel. Scout matures through her experiences throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel she is all innocent and naive. Scout at the end of the novel lost much of her

He shows this by going out of his way to help Mayella. Tom testifies, “Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none (256)…” This shows his generosity as he helped her for no reward, just out of the kindness of his heart. Tom is an honest man who is prejudiced because of his skin colour. Scout realises, “It occurred to me that in their own way, Tom Robinson’s manners were as good as Atticus’s (260).” Since the community has the utmost respect for Atticus it shows that racism is the only reason they will not believe him. Lastly, Tom was killed for a crime he didn’t commit. “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds (323)…” As an innocent man, Tom did not deserve to be killed for this crime. Even though Tom is not guilty, because of the Maycomb’s racism his innocent life was

Atticus and Jem have a unique and unusual relationship as father and son. Atticus and Jem’s relationship is also based on respect and love. Atticus gives forth to is son the personal responsibility to have and make mistakes and then learn from them. Even as a younger kid, Jem not only looks up to his father but also tries to remain worthy of his father's respect, unlike lots of child-parent relationships .Their amusing bond influences Scouts outlooks on things, outcome in life and personality, and teaches great lessons. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird there is a racial battle, which conflicts the small southern town of Maycomb.

To be an honors student it means you are responsible and respectful. A honors student should be ready to take a task and fulfil it to the best of their ability. It means they are ready to challenge yourself with complex tasks and complete them responsibly while going above and beyond.

Jem is talking about the recent death of Mrs. Dubose to his father. She thought him some important life lessons, but even with her strong mind, her body was weakened by the addition, and she eventually passed away, “Did she die free?” Asked Jem, “As the mountain air,” said Atticus, “She was conscious to the last, almost. Conscious,” he smiled, “and cantankerous””(Lee pg.148). This is the second major death that Jem has had to deal with, and it makes him stronger as a character. He has now experienced more and has prepared himself for future hardships. Though Jem only knew Mrs. Dubrose for a short time, he still showed signs of grief and empathy. Sadly Jem goes through this again with Tom Robinson. When jem and scout walked out of the courthouse after Tom Robinson was declared guilty by the jury there were many mixed emotions within the town of Maycomb. Jem is crying over the fact that a guilty man is being sent to his death, he is claiming how inhumane it is. Even though a little boy is crying, the people around him are cheerful, almost rejoicing, they think they have fought a guilty man. In this book strong emotions are commonly felt, strong emotions bring more changes to problematic societies. The hatred and bigotry within the town are making the younger generation feel as though they have to change things. Jem will realize later that his grief was caused by this hatred. Grief was a common emotion felt by Jem, this grief is shaping him as a person. Jem realizes what’s wrong with this community, and he wants to change things. He wants nothing like the Tom Robinson case to happen ever

Due to the fact that Tom Robinson is a black man opposing two white folks, he has a great disadvantage against them on the account of the highly prominent racial discrimination seen in Maycomb. Atticus serves his best to bring Tom justice and he accomplished it despite Tom being wrongfully convicted for a crime he did not commit. Scout and Jem uncover the truths of their small county, Maycomb when they realize that significant racial discrimination is present in their county. The prejudiced attitudes prove to lessen following the trial due to how everyone knows that Tom is innocent but was still convicted solely based on his skin colour. The racial discrimination proves to be less extreme than before the Tom Robinson trial due to how even the most racist and biased people are able to change, the trial made the court attendance question their embedded perspectives on the black community, and the immense duration of time to how long the jury needed to finalize the verdict. Having present all these facts, how could one still believe Maycomb remained the same after the