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How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem, or Jeremy Atticus Finch, is Scout's brother, and throughout the story he changes and matures a lot through a series of stages. First, you have the event that caused this, the trial, then you have the influence that it put upon Jem ,and lastly, how he had overall changed from the experience. After Tom's Trial, when Tom is deemed guilty and goes to jail, Jem is mad because he feels it's unfair. Jem realizes that his outlook on law was rather naive and that there's much more to it, and that his ways of thinking were childish as shown when he is speaking to Atticus, “How could they do it, how could they?’’ and Atticus responds, “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again, and when they do it- seems that only children weep.”(p. 285 Haper Lee). On the night of the trial, Miss Maudie talks to Jem as he sulks and gives Jem more of an understanding that Atticus’ job is deemed to give him results as such, “ There are some men in this world who are born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them.” (P.288 Harper Lee) …show more content…

Jem was positive they would say yes, “Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard.”(p.238 Harper Lee) but him being wrong haunts him for a while as he needs time to think it off. Jem learns to look at the world in a different way instead of through a child's eyes as Atticus tells him “There’s a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep ‘em all away from you. That's never possible.” and this all influences him to grow up, because through a child's eyes, this type of world would never make

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912 Words | 4 Pages

“I don’t know but they did it, they’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it - seems that only children weep” (285). The quote just stated is saying, Jem was angry by the verdict, Atticus tells him that the people will continue to do it, more and more. Last, coming from the view of Atticus during the trial this is how he saw it. “Tom Robinson, a human being…

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547 Words | 3 Pages

"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it again tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it- seems that only children weep. Good night" (pg 285). After the trial, Jem asks Atticus how the jury could be so biased against Robinson even though it's in a court of law. Atticus explains that it's been like this and will stay like this.

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674 Words | 3 Pages

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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674 Words | 3 Pages

A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up" (Chapter 17, page 273). This statement emphasizes Atticus' belief that the court system and the people within it are only as good as the individuals within them, as well as his belief in the ability of the people to be fair and just. Furthermore, Atticus teaches his children, Scout and Jem, to see the world through different eyes and to treat others with empathy and understanding. As Atticus says to Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it" (Chapter 3, page 30).

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243 Words | 1 Pages

In chapters twelve through fifteen of, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, life is becoming worse for Scout as more and more complications arise. Jem is becoming more distant with Scout as he grows older, and Atticus has to work longer due to the Tom Robinson trial. Therefore, Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her colored church, where they are received strangely. We learn that Tom Robinson has been accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, and Aunt Alexandria enters their lives. She immediately begins to control the children’s lives with her strict ways, to Scout’s disliking.

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886 Words | 4 Pages

Jem was mature enough to then start to create his independent values, which were complementary to Atticus’s and Harper Lee’s. During the case of Tom Robinson, Jem said, “Doesn’t make it right... You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that—you can’t” (224). Showing that he views this case based on fact, not opinion. After the verdict turned up guilty, Jem cried on the way home.

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548 Words | 3 Pages

Jem feels frustrated when talking to Atticus because he can see the racism in the court. Atticus agrees with

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772 Words | 4 Pages

As Sheriff Tate is reading the jury’s votes,”Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…,”(Lee 240) Scout describes Jem gripping the balcony railing so tight his knuckles turn white and wincing at every “guilty” he heard. The ruling ruling is very unfair. On the other hand , for many reasons, it could have been predicted. Then when Jem makes it outside to Atticus, he is saying,”It ain’t right.”(Lee 242) over and over again.

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680 Words | 3 Pages

After Tom Robinson’s trial Jem talks to scout about how "if there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?"(Lee 162). Jem realizes that not everyone is treated the same whether it be because of their skin, like Tom, or the way they act, like Boo Radley. He's learning that people are treated differently even though all men are created equally. Jem is coming of age and realizing the world is not the same as he had once seen.

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1986 Words | 8 Pages

Atticus says this so that some people may form a new opinion if Tom is guilty or not guilty. After Atticus’s closing argument prior to the verdict, Jem was very confident based upon the evidence presented that Tom would be not guilty, after the trial Jem was very upset and crying about the harsh reality of the case case, while he is talking to Atticus about this he says, “It ain’t right, Atticus”(Lee 242). Jem is finally maturing and realizing the harsh reality of Maycomb and the racism and prejudice in people's minds throughout their society. Jem learns that just because of the way you were born you are not given the same opportunities that others have just because of one factor, the color of your skin, not the way you act, or your reputation, but the color of your skin, something so little, but has such a massive impact on everyday life.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

Jem especially is upset with the ruling and “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting,” (Lee, 242).

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1240 Words | 5 Pages

Jems opinion on life changes a lot through the Tom Robinson case. He learns that people aren't treated equally just by the color of their skin. From this quote it shows just how much Jem cares about people's equality and how he's maturing. After the case and Tom Robinson's death Jem doesn't do anything to anybody or anything that doesn't deserve it. Like this incident in the story, A rolly polly has crawled in the house by Scouts bed she was going to smash it

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647 Words | 3 Pages

When the guilty verdict was returned, the severe injustice destroyed his childhood naivety. Obviously, the adversity in this scene is the extreme racial prejudice against Tom. Jem’s individual identity is shaped from this whole trial because of the unfairness of the racial prejudice of the jury in court, as it leaves him disillusioned and his childhood innocence lost. His faith in the Alabama justice system is diminished because he realises it’s very flawed. “It was Jem’s turn to cry” (p.284) “It ain’t Atticus.

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447 Words | 2 Pages

“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…” (Lee 242) This shows that Jem is finally of the age where he can make good judgments and even his own decisions.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

and you see it through no matter what” (Lee 112). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem transforms from a helpful young kid, such as when Atticus had to pay Jem to take Scout to school, to a responsible teenager primarily due to the trial of Tom Robinson vs. Mayella Ewell. At the beginning of the book Jem is seen by the audience as a child, he plays in the tree house, he acts out different games, and he plays with other kids including Dill and his sister.

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