What Is Jem's Determination In To Kill A Mockingbird

Jem and Scout’s surprise is evident, and Jem quickly changes his views on their father, exclaiming “‘Atticus is real old, but I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do anything---I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do a blessed thing [...] Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!’” (Lee 99). Jem’s quick change of attitude demonstrates how his view of his father has changed considerably since learning about his hidden talent, and he realizes that it was unfair of him to be ashamed of his father and assume being old and boring is the only notable thing about

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.

To mature is to grow up and understand the world around oneself. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Jem matures and learns many lessons from his father Atticus, neighbor Mrs Dubose, and the figure of Tom Robinson who help him to grow up. Over time, the reader sees Jem learn the life lessons of always doing the right thing, showing courage in the face of adversity, and learning that life is not always fair.

Scout and Jem’s decisions were impacted greatly by how much Atticus has taught them. The methods he uses to bring them up are differ greatly, and give his children a very different set of beliefs than the majority of the people of Maycomb. For example, he teaches them about empathy, a ‘skill’ that much of the community does not know. “You can never really understand a person... until you climb into their skin and walk around in it” (39). Atticus teaches his kids how to empathize with someone, giving them an ideal to live by. As a child grows up, a lot of times they inherit their parent’s belief system as well. He will continue his open-,minded accepting attitude into his children, and their future decisions will be affected greatly by Atticus’s

           Furthermore, on morals, Jem takes his father's advice and steps into other people’s places and sees things from their point of view. One example of this would be how Jem comes to the realization that Arthur Radley, the town shut in who is also known as Boo, stays in his home because he wants to. When realizing this, Jem not only creates a moral but also begins to think for himself instead of believing the lies told by the town gossips. In the beginning of the story Jem believes Arthur has stayed in his house all this time because he is forced to. Jem also believes that Boo is insane and has tried to kill his own family. Nonetheless, Jem does step into Arthur’s shoes and see the town from his perspective. By doing this Jem sees the town as a hateful place filled with judge full people and explains it to Scout that Arthur stays inside because he wants too. This actualization of Arthur ensures that Jem uses this technique with many other situations.

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.

Jem, as a child, has little respect for life or Scout his younger sister. When Jem, Scout, and Dill are on the hill Jem takes revenge on Scout by “pushing the tire with all the force”. As a child, Jem does not realize how important life is. He pushes Scout extra hard because she made him mad not knowing she could get seriously hurt. As Jem matures he has compassion for life and a realization of how important life is. Scout was going to “mash” a roly-poly but Jem asks her to spare it “ Because they don’t bother you.” Jem does not want Scout to kill the roly-poly because it is innocent. Jem’s statement is very reminiscent to Atticus telling the children to never kill a mockingbird because “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.” The court case brings out Jem's adulthood as he starts to understand the unfairness of life and has a newfound compassion for what is right. Jem tells Atticus “that it ain't right” when he hears the guilty verdict, although knowing he is innocent. At this moment, Jem loses his childhood innocence as he realizes that the case should have been innocent but it was not because of the people in his town. Jem loses his childhood belief that everyone will treat others fairly and now has a compassion for what is right. The decisions Jem is faced with like the roly-poly and the court case brings out Jem's compassion in his coming of age.

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.

Many see the glass half empty. Others see it half full. A certain viewpoint makes people who they are. A human's perspective provokes particular beliefs and thoughts that run through our mind like millions of tiny termites. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird authored by Harper Lee, the Finches, Ewells and Robinsons all view the world in a different manner. For Jem Finch, his beliefs are constantly being changed by his environment, surroundings, and people around him. Jem’s early antics with Boo, his attendance at the African-American church, and witness of the trial have one thing in common. All three change Jem’s beliefs from childish to thoughtful!

Webster's dictionary defines courage as "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty." According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Chapter 11, Page 124) No matter how you define it, Harper Lee definitely portrays the theme of mental courage in this book. The book demonstrates that mental courage is fighting what you believe in no matter the consequence. It is one of the most predominant themes and is shown in many of the characters, including Atticus, Jem and Scout, who all show mental

‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee focuses on the topic of courage in the duration of the novel. This is done by many different factors, such as physically, mentally, morally and emotionally. Ms. Dubose, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch all show courage in the face of defeat. The three of them show great courage. Mrs. Dubose shows courage when she decided to conquer her morphine addiction. Boo Radley, otherwise known as the town shut-in, shows an equal amount of courage at the end of the end of the novel by rescuing Jem Finch from Mr.Ewell. Finally, Atticus Finch also acts courageously by standing up for and defending Tom Robinson, knowing full well that a black man cannot get a fair trial in Maycomb county.

In the beginning of the book he starts by knocking on the window and going on his property. Throughout the book Jem starts to mature because he is hitting puberty. When Jem and Scout discover someone has been leaving things for them inside the knot of a tree he then realizes it is Boo. He and scout then try to leave him a thank you note but, his brother Nathan Radley had filled the hole with cement because, “The tree is dying.” He realizes that the stories of Boo are not true and thinks he isn’t as dangerous as the stories he’s heard everyone say. He also realizes after trying to leave a note on the window Nathan Radley comes out with a shotgun. Then they run away and have to crawl under a chain-link fence, which Jem catches his pants on and in the moment takes them off and leaves them. When he comes back for them he finds them folded and the hole had been sewed up by someone (Boo). Jem grows a lot thru the book because of his understanding of Boo and now knows he is actually a good

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that determination is demonstrated by saying they will thrive to win the case. Social justice requires determination because you have to have determination to overcome the social justice. The character of Atticus Finch demonstrates determination by defending a black, end racism, and to overcome violence.

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