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Examples Of Jem Finch's Transformation In To Kill A Mockingbird

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As one enters adolescence, they become more alert to the cruel injustices in the world around them. Every single day, every single person discovers something new, and it’s not always something pleasant. In Harper Lee’s quintessential bildungsroman, To Kill a Mockingbird, her character Jem Finch undergoes an extremely important psychological transformation regarding his understanding of justice in the world around him. One hot summer day, Jem and his friend Dill take it upon themselves to lure their supposedly crazy neighbor, Boo Radley, out of his house. Confronted by Scout, they justify the plan by saying they “... figure if he’d come out and sit a spell with [them] he might feel better” (pg. 51). Even as small children, these characters are …show more content…

His faith in the world around him, in the people he’s grown up around his entire life, has been completely and utterly shattered. He “[don’t] see how any jury could convict on what we heard” (pg. 230). He’s totally convinced that Tom Robinson is innocent, and, undoubtedly, he is. But what Jem doesn’t understand, despite his father’s efforts, is that innocence is not enough to keep Tom out of jail. The words of a white man, even a distrusted and disrespected man like Bob Ewell, will always trump those of a black man. The justice system in Maycomb is deeply racist and subsequently heavily flawed. This truth is not one Jem wants to hear, nor one he can fully process at such a young age. His sister, Scout, more or less lives her life as she did before, but Jem, in his adolescent state, cannot shake the uneasy feeling the results of the trial planted deep in his stomach. He becomes closed off, surly, unapproachable. When his sister brings up the trial, asking “Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad and then turn around and be ugly to folks right at home-” (pg. 249-250), he cuts her off with a ferocity that's almost hostile. His exposure to the cruelness of these adults he’s been told to trust his entire life has made him a different person entirely. He’s matured as a result of seeing just how flawed the justice system really is. He can’t play with his friends in peace anymore. His childlike wonder at the state of the world has been ruptured. But is

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Jem’s adamant interest in Atticus’s affairs implies that he is beginning to replace his innocence with an understanding of the racial stereotypes surrounding Tom Robinson, and how his Atticus’s decision to defend Robinson in court puts himself in a position of political and physical danger, as social norms prohibit such.

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Jem also opposes the town’s racism. He instead sees the incorrectness of the town in a logical standpoint. During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus brings up solid evidence that the attack was not from Tom, but her father Bob Ewell. Jem believes that there is no way that Tom would be declared guilty, he still believes that the town is not racist and thinks that the jury people will think logically about the case. “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them.”

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After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

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To illustrate, “Tom Robinson is a colored man, Jem. No jury in the world is going to say, ’We think you are guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that.” (Lee, 251). This quote shows how little faith Atticus had in Tom’s freedom. He knew that he would not win Tom’s trial, no matter how hard he tried, because no jury in 1930s Alabama would take the word of a black man over that of a white man, no matter how much evidence there was to prove the black man’s innocence.

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Tom Robinson, an innocent black man, was the defendant against a white father and daughter Bob and Mayella Ewell. Jem, Scout, and their friend Dill go to the trial and destroy their own innocence there. Scout narrates,” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” had a separate stab with them”(282). While Jem was at the trial he watched his father Atticus defend Tom Robinson the best that he could. He saw and heard his dad cross-examine every witness and question his own, but

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It is during the trial of Tom Robinson that he truly understands the malevolent world and its mindset. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered…” (212). In this quote, Jem realizes the verdict and knows how wrong it was.

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‘It ain’t right…’ ” (pg 242) Jem had false hopes in Maycomb’s justice system. He didn’t understand that racism and the Jim Crow laws would get in the way of equal justice. His idealistic views are shattered when he learns he was wrong.

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It is at this moment that Jem and Scout realize that as much as they want the world to be fair, it is never going to be in favor of them. The morals in Maycomb, no matter how unfair and biased they may be, will not change as the racism and prejudice present in the novel have been in Maycomb for as long as the people living there can remember. This incident is another example of a lesson learned for both Jem and Scout as they see that life is not always perfect, but they have to make out of it what they

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Initially Scout believes that the family, friends and neighbours she has in Maycomb are all good people, but the trial marks a turning point where she realises that they are also racist and morally questionable. Scout is confused as to why Atticus takes on the case when the town’s attitude is that he “shouldn’t”, and he explains that it’s the right thing to do. When she asks if he’ll win, he says “No” but that he is still going to try. This shows that Atticus is aware of the racist attitudes and history in Maycomb, and recognises that the evil nature of the prosecution will probably win. The outcome of the trial is correctly foreseen by Atticus, but comes as a shock to Scout and Jem, because they previously believed that good and truth and reason would always win.

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Growing up with a lawyer as a father and a role model, Jem has always believed that the court and judicial system will prevail. So when he attends Tom Robinson’s trial he is sure that the court will find him innocent of the crime he was accused of committing, but when Tom is found guilty, despite the amount of evidence to back him up, Jem cannot believe it. Lee writes, “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…’ I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them… (282). This shows just how badly the final jurisdiction hit Jem with reality.

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“‘You gonna take that back, boy?’...‘My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that ‘negro’ oughta hang from the water-tank!’” (Lee 87)Since the racism is extremely common amongst not only the adults in town but also the Maycomb children, Scout almost reneged on her promise to keep her head high and fists down. If Scout chose to fight Cecil, she would disappoint Atticus, but more importantly herself. After Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted of rape and assault by the jury, Jem is furious and doesn’t understand why they even have juries. He even goes on to say that we oughta “do away with juries.”

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