Brooke Hines
Mrs. Kennedy
English 8, Period 6
1 March 2016
Contrasts and Contradictions in To Kill A Mockingbird
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there were many different characters who changed throughout the book. The story was written in the perspective of a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who was known as Scout in the book. The Finch family consisted of Jem, otherwise known as Jeremy Atticus Finch, and Atticus Finch, the widowed father of Jem and Scout. The Finch family lived in an old southern place called Maycomb County where almost everyone knew each other. In Maycomb County, there were very few lawyers however, Atticus Finch was one of them. Since Atticus was one of the only lawyers in town, he defended Tom Robinson, a black
…show more content…
To further develop Jem’s character, Lee wrote a scene with Dill, a friend whom the Finch children played with in the summer time every year. Dill and the Finch children were always daring each other to complete certain tasks, most resulted in dangerous outcomes. One of the dares Jem was given was to touch the Radley house. The Radley house was known in the neighborhood as a scary, mysterious residence in which the individuals, who resided there, rarely showed their faces in public. Two men lived in the Radley House, one named Nathan who came out everyday to go to work, and one named Arthur, also known as “Boo.” Most people in Maycomb county thought Arthur was scary and very mysterious, as a result, most of the children called him Boo. Consequently, when Jem was given the dare to touch the house he became panicked because he didn't know what would happen to him after touching the proclaimed haunted house. Jem had been known not to deny a dare, and was beyond scared to follow through with the initial request. Harper Lee set it up in the beginning of the book as if Jem never declined a dare. Dill said, “You gonna run out on a dare?”(pg 17). The author includes Dill questioning Jem because anytime before this instance Jem would have completed any dare