Who Is Jem Finch A Hero

Boo Radley is a mysterious and suspicious character, where throughout the beginning and middle of the book, Scout, Jem, and Dill have a preconception of him being a mean, old man. At the ending of the book, when Boo saves the children from Mr. Ewell, Scout sees how she prejudiced him based on other people’s beliefs. Boo is one of the most misunderstood characters of the book, starting out as a fantasy and a monster, but then he turns out to be very thoughtful, brave, and kind.

Boo would leave small gifts in a tree near his residence for the Finch kids to find, he mended Jem’s pants when he was caught wandering in the Radley yard, and he did Maycomb County a huge honor by executing Bob Ewell, a man who caused much to the town. On page 321, Scout says, “Boo is our neighbor. He gave us 2 soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives. we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.” Boo’s character was very honorable as he took care of his community without wanting something in return.

Many people work diligently to attain the character trait courage. Courage cannot be easily accomplished as the definition of courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty. Courage is shown in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, as Atticus bravely defends a black person, Tom Robinson during history where racism was vivid. The theme of courage is ideally present via Scout and Boo Radley from the book To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee.

“‘Come on, Scout, don’t just lie there!’ [he] was screaming. ‘Get up, can’tcha’” (p50). Jem was shouting at Scout partially because he's terrified of Boo Radley, and because he cares very dearly about his younger sister. This leads us into the fact that JEm has a very soft spot for his family, and a very hard and strong protective shell for them.

J.F. Clarke once said, “The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience.” True bravery is defined through siding with one’s self morals and beliefs even against the disapproval and ridicule of others. This quote defines the true definition of bravery in that bravery is embracing and listening to one’s conscience. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee exhibits the true definition of bravery when Atticus took on the trial and when Dolphus Raymond and Boo Radley make sacrifices in their own lives.

Since Scout and Jem could remember, Boo was in his house, never to be seen, no one ever got to know him, and no one asked him how he felt. It was said that he stabbed his parents, and sometimes he would walk around at night looking into peoples windows: “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch… his hands were bloodstained… there was a long jagged scar that ran across his face: what teeth he had were yellow and rotten, his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee 16) This description was given by Jem, who had never seen Boo, but planted in the mind of himself and his sister that Boo was a bloodthirsty savage. As the kids grew up, later in the story they eventually understood how Boo felt, they grew out of their naivety, and looked at things through Boo’s eyes.

Mr Radley was ashamed of his son’s behaviour when he got into the wrong crowd as a youngster and punished him by locking him up. There is a lot of gossip around Maycomb about Boo and people blame him for any bad things that happen in the neighbourhood, ‘Any stealthy crimes committed in Maycomb were his work.’ Jem turns him into a monster, ‘his hands were blood-stained’, and ‘his eyes popped’. At the end of the novel however, we find that Boo is misunderstood, and gossip of the town’s folk has made him up to be a ‘malevolent phantom’. Scout tells us he is timid, he had, ‘the voice of a child afraid of the dark’.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen”, Winston Churchill. Courage is shown within the characters of To Kill A Mockingbird in several situations. In this novel, the characters are willing to face danger without letting fear get in the way. The courage they present builds up their strength to continue towards their goal. Atticus, Scout and Mrs. Dubose define what courage is meant to be through the challenges they face.

Scout, Jem and Dill talked about him. However, when he was introduced near the end of the story, Mr. Arthur “Boo” Radley dug down into himself and mustered up enough courage to prove himself. Boo Radley saved the two children and presented his courageousness. Scout and Jem were walking home from the Maycomb pageant and Halloween celebration when Jem heard a noise. He had Scout stop walking and tried to listen. The children just assumed that they were going to be scared by Cecil Jacobs. Then, when they stopped at one point, the footsteps rapidly increased towards them, the unknown person was running. It turns out that it was Bob Ewell who had planned on hurting or killing Scout and Jem. Radley noticed them running and heard some commotion. When he ran outside, he realized that the kids were in danger and went out and saved their lives. He revealed boundless courage and integrity in saving the children. Heck Tate said, “I never heard tell that it’s against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime frim being committed, which is exactly what he did, but maybe I’ll say it’s my duty to tell the town all about it and hush it up. Know what’d happen then? All the ladies in Maycomb includin’ my wife’d be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes… but not this man Mr. Finch” (Lee 276) in regard to Boo Radley and his actions in saving Scout and Jem Finch from death. He is saying that regardless of him killing Bob Ewell, he is a hero and if he were not there for the children that they could be in a critical situation now. There was a second instance in the book that he manifested great courage. Boo Radley had never left his house and remained locked up in the house next door. He found happiness in being alone. So when he was out with Scout, Atticus and Heck Tate, he acted out of place and anxious. Harper Lee describes his mannerisms as that he “...shuffled to his feet, light from the livingroom

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.

Atticus Finch is remarkably courageous throughout the novel. Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face, goes to Tom’s cell knowing there would be a mob, and does his best in court to exonerate Tom. Firstly, Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face. Atticus says “ ‘...if spitting in my face saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take’ ” (Lee 218). Atticus is being disrespected in one of the worst ways by a man he could destroy, but knows that he was helping a victim of abuse, Mayella, so he does not make things worse by retaliating. Secondly, Atticus knows there is a mob coming, but nevertheless goes to Tom Robinson’s cell to defend him. Atticus knows the possibly dangerous mob is coming, with Scout observing “He seemed to be expecting them” (150). However, Atticus recognizes that he is Tom’s only hope, and utilizes his immense courage to face the mob. Thirdly, Atticus does his best to defend Tom in court. As Scout tells us, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (241). Atticus knows from the beginning he has next to no chance to win the trial, but still tries for Tom’s sake, for the other black people in the community, and for the chance he could appeal it and change laws for the good of African Americans. Atticus is an amazing example of courage in the face of adversity for his actions in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Although we only see Boo only once in the whole novel, he plays an important role in the story’s plot. His image evolves though the story (especially in the eyes of Scout and Jem), from a creepy “malevolent phantom” to a kind human being. Boo Radley extends his care to Scout and Jem, even though at times, they were taunting him. This perfectly depicts the underlying theme of the mockingbird; that Boo Radley is friendly and good-natured, even when he is tormented. In the last chapter, Scout directly refers to Boo as a mockingbird, by saying: “Well, it’d be sort of like shootin‘ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”

Jem Finch is a courageous character by Atticus’ standards because of the choices he makes in chapter 6 when he decides to risk his safety and his life to protect his own morals and values. Jem talks with Scout regarding him going back to the Radley house even though they got shot at the last time. Jem goes over his options and what choice he should make with Scout present. Scout tries to talk him out of going back to the Radley house. Scout says,"Look, it ain't worth it, Jem.

did not allow anyone to visit him or have the slightest contact with him. Eventually Boo's mental state triggers him to stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. Boo's fathers causes Boo to suffer innocently by stealing his childhood experiences away from him. This indicates that Boo is a mockingbird because he did very little to deserve this torment and isolation that his father inflicted upon him. Then, Jem and Scout from the beginning of the story never fully understood Boo's past life at all, yet they judged him on things they hear about. They suspect he was basically an evil monster that never comes out of his house. Scout starts the stereotyping by creating a nickname “Boo” for the innocent Arthur Radley. This nickname robs Arthur of his true name and identity, causing him to suffer. Furthermore, Jem and Scout constantly pester Boo in an attempt to discover his actual identity. They tell their best friend Dill that Boo is like a zombie. Jem describes Boo as being: “About six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cat he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 13). The stereotypical image created by Jem completely robs Boo

He is innocent of all of the claims and stories made up about him. He is robbed of friendship and trust with the entire town and is hurt by the cruel remarks made by the townsfolk. He had never done anything to harm anyone or anything in his lifetime; instead he strove to help people whenever he could, but tried to help them as best he could without being seen or noticed. One cold night when Scout Finch was standing frozen cold outside the Radley house, Boo secretly slipped a blanket over Scout’s shoulders to give her warmth. He also gave the two children, Jem and Scout, a few presents in a knot hole of a tree to show his compassion and warm heart. He even helped to protect the two children when Bob Ewell tried to murder them both. These examples show his innocence and that he is obviously not a monster. Scout comes to realise that he has inner goodness that must be cherished, alike a mockingbird. The town had committed a sin by harming him from the cruel things they had made up about him. And it was a sin when Tom Robinson, an innocent man, was killed when it came to his turn in the novel.