Scout Finch Character Analysis

Jeremy “Jem” Finch is a leading protagonist in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” published in 1960. Jem matured greatly throughout the duration of the book, starting to resemble and idolize his father, achieves the status of a guardian to his sister and introduces a whole new set of ideals in his lifestyle. He embodies the themes of growth. Throughout the novel we see how perceptions of things such as courage, respect, tolerance, and cruelty changes Jem as he matures.

"Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity.

First of all, Atticus is one of the most influential people in Scout and Jem’s life, during the story. Throughout the story, Atticus shows them that being courageous is not always what they think. During the novel, it looks like Atticus always tries to be courageous and set an example for Scout and Jem. An example of when Atticus tries to teach them about real courage is when he says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird there is a strong relationship between the father, Atticus Finch, and the son, Jem Finch. Throughout the story there are many times when Atticus has to teach Jem to have the correct behavior towards people who said many hateful things about his father, and when Atticus has to correct him on other foolish acts a boy his age does. Atticus had to teach him how to treat people when he destroyed the plants in Mrs. Dubose's yard, when he learns about his father defending a black man, and the time when he snuck up in the Radley's yard. Jem also learns many valuable life lessons from the ways Atticus deals with all of the hatred towards him and his family.

Jem had to cope with the fact that life isn’t always fair, where humanity is shortcoming and very harsh. Courage was a difficult thing to use in this situation where your fears of acceptance and equality were newly discovered. Walking away from his values of pride and his stubborn nature, Jem had to accept his fear. Whether he was struggling with the outcome of the trial or the closing up of the knot-hole in the tree, Jem had shown effort to hide his fear. His silence and distance from Scout, who had only wanted to comfort him during the trial, showed that he was ashamed of not having his pride and bravery when it came to difficult situations involving his fears.

The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are delightful, spontaneous, and loveable in every way. Scout is everyone's favorite little scamp who loves playing and acting like a little boy. Atticus is the serious but compassionate father who still manages to look after his children after his wife’s death, and even while dealing with a very important case. Tom Robinson adds the feeling of worriedness, you don’t need to worry about the other characters well being like you do Tom’s. However, the best character is Jem, the older brother of Scout and the son of Atticus.

When there is a mob by the jail where Atticus is at, Jem and Scout come, “‘Go home, Jem’ [Atticus] said. ‘Take Scout and Dill home.’ We were accustomed to prompt, if not always cheerful acquiescence to Atticus’s instructions, but from the way he stood Jem was not thinking of budging. ‘Go home, I said’ Jem shook his head.” Jem thinks he could protect Atticus even though there is a whole mob of grown men. This is courageous because he could have gotten hurt or killed by the mob but he stood up for what he believed in, Atticus, no matter how silly it is to think that he could protect him from an angry crowd. During the mob a man tried to hurt Jem, “‘I’ll send him home,’ a burly man said, and grabbed Jem roughly by the collar. He yanked Jem nearly off his feet. ‘Don’t touch him!’ [Scout] kicked the man swiftly.” When Jem is being hurt, Scout was courageous as she kicks the man even if it would only anger him more and get herself hurt. She shows true courage for standing up for Jem no matter what would happen next. Atticus teaches Scout and Jem how to be courageous through his actions and now they finally learn the message Atticus is passing

In the novel to Kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee, readers can see Jem finch mature and grow. He learns more about life but loses some of his innocence along the way. He had his own opinions on his father; Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson’s trial. Throughout the story he gains the knowledge of pure hate and how cruel one can be to another man. He realizes the idea of why Atticus feels the need to defend Tom. His thought of Maycomb began to change which corresponds to the idea that he lost a lot too. He then learns to not be segregational like the rest of the Maycomb crowd. Therefore, in the beginning of the novel, Jem is focused on playing games and wanting to learn how to shoot; however, by the end of the story, he learns the importance of defending

Early in the novel, Jem is introduced as shy and innocent, but over the years, he matures into a valiant boy. He understands the importance of having courage while living in a bias and corrupted town like Maycomb. Jem learns the significance of having courage and how it can impact another person’s life when he agrees to read to Mrs. Dubose everyday as his punishment for ruining her camellia bushes. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb into his skin” (Lee 39).

Scout is a very interesting character to talk about, especially when it comes to character traits. One trait that seems to stand out amongst the others is her sense of courage. She never shows much fear, even in the most dangerous of situations. Scout is a young girl with little experience in life but she’s not in any way, shape, or form afraid of showing pride in what she believes in which is clearly shown in chapter 23, “I think there’s just one type of folks. Folks.” (Lee). This small, fragile, but mighty girl shows this trait immensely not only when she walks into that mob of angry townspeople, but also when she attempted to communicate with Boo Radley. No matter what people said

Both Scout Finch and Lily Owens have a fair share of challenges in life. One very big challenge for both Scout and Lily is not having a mother. Both girls mothers died when they were young, and have had a black woman as a caregiver. Both Scout and Lily start to see their caregiver as a mother figure who gets put out of her role and replaced with another woman who shows them how to do life. Scout has a very supportive father while Lily’s father is borderline abusive. Even through their lives are opposite of each other the girls have their mothers in common.

Without Jem realizing it, he applied the true meaning of courage and bravery in his actions. Jem started to believe that in order to do what is right, he has to bear the bad consequences of what he does. ‘“Dill’s eyes flickered at Jem, and Jem looked at 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?’ ”’ (Harper Lee, 151) Most of the time, Jem was hiding secrets from Atticus ignoring the fact that it could cause harm to him, Dill or Scout. At the first time when he told Atticus about Boo Radley, he hesitated at first because he feared that Atticus would punish him. In this quote, he did not show any signs of hesitation despite knowing that Dill might get mad at him, and that indicates how he is better at bearing the consequences of his actions now. Jem broke the wall of fear and began to stand for his personal terms in difficult situations. “In the midst of this strange assembly, Atticus stood trying to make Jem mind him. “I ain’t going” was his steady answer to Atticus’s threats, requests, and finally, “Please Jem, take them home.”” (Harper Lee, 163) When Jem called Atticus on Dill, Jem did not fully experience the true meaning of real bravery because the situation was a bit calm. It is known for a fact

Bravery is a key characteristic in every single person, without it you are fearful. Jem, one of the main characters in "To Kill a Mockingbird", would not be the person is without this crucial component. Jem is a kind hearted young boy, who especially tries to show off to his younger sister, Scout and to Dill, the children's summer friend. Jem learns throughout the book many different ways to define himself from his lawyer father, Atticus, the housekeeper to the Flinches, Calpurnia, his younger sister, Scout and their neighbor, Miss Maudie. In "To Kill a Mockingbird", Jem's perspective of bravery changes dramatically as he develops from these characters throughout the novel.

Lee develops courage by using characterization and imagery. She uses characterization by creating the characters extremely well, you almost feel like you're in the book. In one part she reveals “As Atticus’s fists went to his hips, so did Jem’s, and as they faced each other I could see little resemblance between them: Jem’s soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug-fitting ears were our mother’s, contrasting oddly with Atticus’s graying black hair and square-cut features, but they were somehow alike.”(152). This means that Atticus and Jem are very similar and both are courageous. Lee also writes “My friendly overture had fallen flat.” (153) which was when Scout was first talking to all of the men. Most characters in the novel provide some kind of courage but especially Atticus and Scout. Another way Lee develops the novel is with literary devices is imagery. In one part Scout thinks, “I pushed my way through dark smelly bodies and burst into the circle of light.” (152). This creates the image of night time darkness and big tall smelly men. Scout bursts through the scary men to the middle as one of her many courageous acts. Another image Scout creates is “There was a smell of stale whiskey and pigpen about,...” (152) after she is in the middle of the men and she notices the foul smell. Lee uses characterization and imagery all throughout To Kill A Mockingbird but this passage stands out to me the most because it really develops the characters well and provides a clearer image of what Atticus and Jem look like. It reveals one of Scout’s true acts of

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is one of the main characters and the narrator. During the time the book begins, she is a little 6 year-old girl who is mature for her age, and she continues to mature as the book progresses. Over the course of the novel, Scout develops an exceptional character which is constantly changing from the effects of different events and characters. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses the minor characters Boo Radley, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra to help develop Scout into a strong and compassionate human being from the innocent child she used to be.