Critical Thinking In To Kill A Mockingbird

Atticus is guarding the jailhouse to make sure no one hurts Tom Robinson before his trial, when he is approached by Walter Cunningham and his fellow goons. Atticus shows his bravery by standing his ground for what he believes is right in front of his son. When Scout lashes out to her father’s side, Jem holds onto her and tries to stop her from interfering. Then Jem refuses to go home and stands up for his father’s side although the odds were against them, while trying to protect his sister from harm. In page 152, chapter 15, Scout says, “... but from the way he stood, Jem was not thinking of budging.” This shows us that Jem has matured from the boy who would do anything if dared, to a young man who can barricade his emotions and proceed with reason in difficult situations.

on going to the jail when he senses that his father may be in danger.

“It takes a village to raise a child”, is an African Proverb. In other words, it can take more than just a child’s nuclear family to make her grow into who she will be as an adult. This lens is true because even though parents and siblings have a major effect on a child, and how they turn out later on in life, society and a child’s surrounding are what really shapes, and makes them who they are. What a child sees when he or she is new to the world, and doesn’t know everything, effects their behavior, and outlook on their life ahead. This lens is illustrated in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

Maturity is a huge part of growing up and in those two books that one or two of the characters did mature throughout the books. The characters have to find themselves throughout the books and by the end they all do. Both books have similar maturing stories but their are also some major differences. Jem was went from being a childish kid to a more mature teenager. In the beginning Jem would play in childish games with Scout to try and get Boo Radley to come out of his house.

As To Kill a Mockingbird progresses, Jem takes definitive steps toward maturity with his actions in the tire and flower incidents, for example. He would later go on to repair the flowerbed he destroyed, and take greater care to protect Scout. Through his actions, we can see Jem develop a sense of morals and responsibility that would prove to be a lifesaver.

Jem is an innocent boy who sometimes loses hope but always gains back his courage.

In his article,“Herd” Mentality Explained, Rick Nauert Ph.D. talks about how we as humans tend to follow things even when people may never even realize it. This connects to how Lee uses the characters of Jem and Scout to show the struggle of choosing between following the herd or being an individual.

Throughout the novel, Jem is influenced by a variety of people and circumstances. His surroundings and the people that he grew up with influenced his outlook on life and persuaded him into a well developed young man. First and foremost, his father Atticus established morals, and guidelines and consequently lead him into adulthood. He provided wisdom and insight into a future for Jem, free from inequality and abundant in fairness. Mrs. Dubose, although biased and cruel, was a figure of courage for Jem to learn from. Throughout the case, Jem was constantly reiterating his opinion on how he believed none of it was right. At the end of the novel, Jem was put in the worst situation at such a young age, almost being murdered. Luckily, the outcome

With Atticus as his role model, Jem starts to follow his father’s footsteps throughout the book. One day, when Atticus bravely shot a mad dog that ran rampant through the streets of Maycomb, Jem started to understand what it really meant to have courage. Unfortunately, Jem’s bravery shows his foolhardiness when he nearly becomes a shooting victim in an attempt to get Boo Radley out of the house. However, Jem’s fearlessness also displays maturity when a drunken mob with violent intentions surrounds Atticus. With his father in trouble, Jem shows a character quality that greatly resembles his dad. “Mutual defiance made them alike.” (15) In the end, Jem’s actions saved Atticus from injury.

The concept of conflicting perspectives is consistently present in Harper Lees’ novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The text asks questions about current trends in society and the attitudes that cause people to ‘act like sheep” and conform while also expressing the need for individuality. It also brings into question the way the judicial system should be beyond reproach no matter what man is on trial, whether they be white or black. In a similar manner it also shows changing attitudes in regards to racism over time and in turn establish a conflicting perspective between the reader and characters of the novel.

In the story, Jem is a very brave and mischievous child who does not want to disappoint his father, who he looks up to, with his actions. He learns a lot about bravery from his father who he has seen face challenges such as having to defend Tom Robinson. He was one of the most hated men in the town and never treated anyone with disrespect. This was something that Jem really looked up to Atticus for and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Mainly, Atticus taught Jem that you should not focus on the color of someone's skin.

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Jem is young and carefree in the beginning of the novel. He is just starting to take on the responsibilities of an older brother: “Jem condescended to take me to school the first day, a job usually done by one’s parents, but Atticus said Jem would be delighted to show me where my room was.” (p.20). Atticus is trusting Jem to safely get Scout to school, and help her

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

“To Kill A Mockingbird” (1960), by Harper Lee, emphasizes and displays many different philosophical ideas. These ideas are about innocence, segregation, knowledge, and reality. Ideas include the right for all races to be treated as equals, and not be judged or segregated by the color of their skin. “To Kill A Mockingbird” especially emphasizes that children, as they grow into their teen and pre-teen years, start to realize their environment and observe the way people act. This is the idea of reality. Children will start having sophisticated and intelligent ideas whether adults like it or not but the children will fight even if parents don’t think they have a mind of their own. Children start disobeying and showing signs of rebellion.The environment we live in influences the way we think, it takes away our innocence because of bad things that happen, and give us a base to form our ideas on. Two siblings; Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch. Their Father, a southern lawyer defending a black-American man accused of rape and beating a white woman. Jem and scout are 10 and 6 at the beginning of the book. But end up being 13 and 9 by the end, Jem being the oldest. Jem and scout, along with many other characters in the book, like Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Charles Baker “Dill” Harris all have a message linked to them in the book.