How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

Over the course of the novel, the reader watches Jem mature from age 10 to age 13, growing up from a brave and playful boy, to a calm, collected young man similar to the likes of his father Atticus. One of the most important life lessons that Atticus teaches Jem is to always do the right thing even if it’s the hardest thing to do. Atticus Finch is known as a man who is “the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” (Lee, pg. 61) He lived by morals, and always abade by them. After Atticus took up the court case of Tom Robinson, a coloured man, he had many people insult him and make fun of him. Atticus knew that he couldn’t refuse the case, as he stated “before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”(Lee, pg.140) Atticus took the job that no person wanted, especially knowing that he was going to lose the case before it even began. In doing so, Atticus shows Jem that you should always be a man of your morals, that you should always do the right thing even if it is the hardest thing to do. Although he has a hard time understanding Atticus’ actions at first, Jem begins to comprehend his father’s values in the world around him, with more mature eyes.

Like the book had been stated jem was only 10 years old when this book started. Now most 10 year olds have almost no knowledge of the world. This was expected but as the book represents jem shows us this multiple times. The first big example in the book was when scout had found the a piece of gum in the tree hole, the text states, “Don't eat things you find scout.” This is showing that Atticus has taught him at a very young age or Jem caught on to the idea dn knew it was bad. Another example in the book was when Jem wanted to contact Boo radley or Arther. Jem knew,”If i had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning then my funeral would have been held that afternoon.” He had made sure they went together just in case something bad were to happen.

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.

“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations.” is a quote from Samuel Ullman. This describes the struggles that Jem went through by taking part in the community and trial and by also taking the risk of losing some of his friends and family in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through Jem’s interaction with the racism of Maycomb, he became aware of the things around him. We all learn that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society.

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

Firstly, Jem begins to show his social corrections, changes, and potential. Jem originally feels bad because he can't understand others like Scout , his sister, or the situation that is going on with such people. He starts changing when he begins to adjust social situations the way an older teen would. Example; Jem grows older and becomes distant because of his brain power. Scout gets jealous, “What had began as a fist-fight had become a brawl.”(184) They did

“He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose a head,until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (Lee,137). This is a great example of how Jem was irrational at the beginning of the book To Kill A Mockingbird. He didn’t scare him. He was careless and disrespect sometimes. Jem demonstrated that he had evolved the most from the beginning of the book To Kill A Mockingbird by showing how mature he is, respecting others view and trying to stop scout to do antics.

Before coming into the world, butterflies are secured in their safe cocoon, forced to be exposed to the life that surrounds them. They start off as caterpillars, not aware of the horrors of the world that are awaiting them when they make that final transformation. The butterfly’s cocoon is the last barrier and once it’s shattered, the butterfly immediately starts making decisions and modifications based on this newfound society. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this process is revealed in the children of Maycomb, Jem, Scout, and Dill, when they discover the unjust ways of their society. Overall, Lee successfully demonstrates how children lose innocence and start to grow up because of influences coming from their environment.

The growth of Jem and Scout's relationship shows understanding of Atticus' definition of a gentleman. At the beginning of the story, Jem was mostly worried about his own stubborn self. This is shown when Jem pushes Scout super-fast in a tire because she didn’t agree with his statement on Hot Steams. Scout narrates, "Until it happened I did not realize that Jem was offended by my contradicting him on Hot Steams, and that he was patiently waiting an opportunity to reward me" (Lee 49). In other words, Jem needed to be in control and prove a point to Scout that he was right. This quote shows Jem's stubbornness and unwillingness to protect Scout due to his lack of gentleman tendencies. At this point in the story, Jem is not mature enough to learn from Atticus but that eventually changes. Towards the end, Jem and Scout were on their way home from the Halloween pageant when Jem heard something but didn’t tell Scout. Scout ponders, "I wondered what he was thinking. He'd tell me when he wanted to, probably when we got home. I felt his fingers press the top of my costume, too hard, it seemed"

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, a fictional town in Alabama, in the 1930’s. Through its strong themes of racism and discrimination, the novel could portray a depressing view on life, but it’s outcome is the opposite. The novel shows great optimism and hope for the future through many reason, but largely centering with the perspective of the novel through a young child, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch. Through her juvenility, she shows pure honesty and shows optimism through Jem and herself, their father Atticus and the well-known conviction of Tom Robinson.

Jem’s character develops throughout the novel, the shift that happens is probably because of the experiences he has been through; he was highly affected by the trial of Tom Robinson, he grows from a boy to gentleman who protects his sister and tries to make her understand the implicated events around her. Jem is idealistic – as father as son- he hates the idea of racism, he feels angry when Tom Robinson condemned guilty, He felt angry and asked Scout not to speak about the trial again “I never wanta hear about that courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me?”(To Kill a MockingBird 131) He taught her not to hurt the powerless and not to use her powers unless for good.

Chapters: 1-2 Theme: Maturity Scout has an idea of her own world and thinks of her own world as a place of, in a way, completeness. This concept starts an important point for the story. There are some scenarios that show the truth of what the kids know during the time where they grow and mature. An example of foreshadowing maturity is Jem’s broken arm.

Yet, this time it is more based on his observations alone and not being taught. Jem first is visibly changed in his view of bravery. In the beginning of the novel, Jem thinks that being brave is just touching the Radley house. But as the story progresses he sees real acts of bravery; Atticus shooting a mad dog, Mrs. Dubose’s addiction battle, and even Scout standing up to the mob at the jail. After seeing Scout stand up to the crowd at the jail, Jem declares: “I ain’t going,” (154), even after his father’s threats and pleas. This shows that Jem has minded other’s courage and learned how to really show it. An addition, from part two of the book onward, Jem is going through puberty. This definitely has an effect on his attitude and his view of others. Jem is shown to talk differently, wants to be alone, and acts more professional. Scout gets tired of Jem’s poor attitude and threatening to spank her to act high and mighty, so she attempts to beat up Jem. Scout, enraged, says: “With that, I was gone. ‘You damn morphodite, I’ll kill you!’” (139). This is a natural stage of a teen’s life, but Jem picks up these attributes of trying to be a father figure from Atticus. It is clear that Jem looks up to Atticus highly, and will copy many things from him, except maybe in the wrong way. Finally, Jem’s most important experience is that Maycomb is not what it seems. Even after the astounding evidence Atticus

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

By the conclusion of Chapter 10 Atticus is not only a hero of the municipality, but in the perspective of his children, most prominently Jem, he has proven himself worthy of respect and admiration. When Atticus shoots the rabid dog, saving the town from its fears of infection and death, Jem is, initially, “paralysed… in numb confusion”, however he soon is overcome with pride for his father, which he shows by jubilantly exclaiming, “Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!” The employment of the word ‘paralysed’ in the description of Jem’s reaction exemplifies the surprise that he feels when he learns that his father is not as incompetent as he once though he was and the later repetition of the synonymic phrase ‘numb confusion’ amplifies this.