How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

A person's childhood acts as an outline of who they are going to become in the future. Children can experience so much yet so little throughout their youth. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, showcases the life of two children ,Scout and Jem, as the novel progresses the reader learns about numerous events and situations that caused them to mature. Now in many cases, an eight and twelve-year-old wouldn't really seem mature, but this isn't one of those cases. Scout and Jem are exposed to evils of racism,and the crudeness of stereotyping which caused them to grow during the novel. the Tom Robinson trial is what really opened their eyes to racism, and the town's recluse Arthur “Boo” Radley exposed them to stereotyping.

The jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word... (Chapter 9). He explains to scout that even if he presents Tom Robinson's case with no room for doubt and gives Tom the best defense possible, due to the fact that the townspeople are racist, there is no way they would believe Tom, a black man, over a white man. This injustice hits Jem the hardest when he says "How could they do it, how could they?"(Chapter 20) he is shocked by the fact that they are sending an innocent man to jail due to the color of his skin when there is no way Tom is guilty. The reader never really saw a reaction from Scout on the verdict of the trial, but she learns through her family members how unfair the world was and

Initially, “Boo” Radley is seen as a monster and a maniac in the view of the town as the novel progresses you are able to see the major impact he had on the growth of both Jem and Scout. Scout and Jem are fascinated by all the rumors that are said about Arthur”Boo” Radley and his past. In the very beginning when Jem describes “Boo” as a man who”dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch”() he bases this judgment on nothing substantial. As time went on , Jem realized that Boo Radley wasn’t the "boogie man" that he and Scout had created in their minds. It all started the night that Jem lost his pants when he returned to find the tears sewn. He told Scout that it was "Like somebody was reading my mind." (Chapter 7)Atticus tells Scout and Jem that "there's just one kind of folks. Folks." ( Chapter 23) Jem then understands why Boo stays inside his house. In the end” Boo” taught them that one cannot judge a person on based on something like rumors, but should be judged based upon their