The Moral Nature of Human Beings in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

On page 187 it says, “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?’” When Jem did this it represented him moving on in a way. As he grows up he starts to take responsibility. Jem starts to recognize the influence he has on Dill and Scout; they don't take this very well. Jem begins to set a positive example on them to help lead them onto a positive path. Jem losing his innocence and becoming more mature causes him to see from a big brother

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.

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

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.

The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a story of life in an Alabama town in the 30's. The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is writing of a time when she was young, and the book is in part the record of a childhood, believed to be Harper Lee’s, the author of the book..

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.

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

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

Atticus is a wise father and helps his children accept people no matter how they look or act. This is evident when he says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” (Lee 33). Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout mature at different paces. Atticus guides his children as they begin to grow and mature. “It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem.” “No son, It’s not right.” (Lee 243). When Atticus lost the case, Jem expressed how he felt. He had tears on his face. Here was a turning point for Jem because he was old enough to understand the case. Atticus comforted him and agreed it was not right. Atticus shows affection towards his children when they saved him from trouble with “the mob”. “As they passed under a streetlight, Atticus reached out and massaged Jem’s hair, his one gesture of affection.” (Lee 176). At first, Atticus may have been frustrated with his children being at the office. Then, their innocence saved him. Atticus has many characteristics and is a loving father. Atticus displays a valuable lesson about equality and fairness for his children.

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.”

During the time span from the exposition until now, Jem has grown and has lost his innocence as a result of becoming a young adult. Although Jem is becoming more like an adult, Scout has remained her innocent self. As Jem has grown, his methods have changed with him. For an example, Jem always read and passed his literature onto Scout, first for the amusement of his younger sister but now his method is to enhance her intelligence. “Still everything he read he passed along to me, but with this difference: formely, because he thought I’d like it; now, for my edification and instruction.”(Lee 184). Jem has exhibited his manner towards the education of Scout, yet Scout still remains her love consumed innocent self. “Dill was off again. Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head.”(Lee 192) During chapter 16 as the mob is coming in on Atticus, Scout has just revealed Dill, Jem, and her own presence in the situation. Atticus repeatedly advised Jem to take Scout and Dill home but Jem refused. Before Jem’s transformation into a young adult, he would follow the commands of Atticus but now Jem has learned to think and act himself. Jem saw a situation where his father needed his help, so Jem remained with his father as he instructed Him to leave. ‘“Go home, Jem,” he said.

“Don’t you cry, now, Scout… don’t you cry now, don’t you worry.” Through this quote from To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem shows he has matured a lot since the beginning of the novel. By the end of the novel, Jem becomes understanding and patient and also begins to know more about the world. This causes him to become a better role model toward Scout.

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

Within the story I saw that the kids in their own way had their own culture. They had their own way of life, they acted mature but yet they were still youngsters fooling around and being kids. Having their own culture ment they had their own heros. Which leads to my point that Jem was one of their hero. He was looked up to by Scout and Dill, for his courage and wisdom. He first showed his courage in chapter one when he slapped the palm of his hand against the Radley place. As the kids grew so did Jem’s intellect and maturity. Something the kids could look up to, Much like what people do towards their hero or heroes.