How Is Jem Broken Down In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird we learn about how Jem’s innocence is broken down from the beginning to the end of the story. These examples are shown throughout the course of the trial and Jem and Scout’s adventures in the book. One example of his innocence being broken down is when we learn Tom Robinson is convicted of rape even though all the evidence showed that Mr. Ewell had abused Mayella and convicted Tom for revenge. In chapter 21 Scout even points out how Jem was offended by how the trial ended, “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.” This example

At this moment Jem realized not all things worked out perfectly and that there was so much bad in the world to ruin the lives of others. Another example of Jem’s innocence being broken down is when Nathan Radley closed up the hole in the tree. When Jem and Scout had discovered that Nathan Radley was closing the hole in the tree because “it was sick” they were conflicted on whether he had told the truth. When Jem had asked Atticus if you close the hole on a tree when it’s sick and he replied with a no, Jem was struck with the realization that Nathan Radley had lied to them so they wouldn’t receive any “gifts” from the tree. It even states in chapter 7 how Jem reacted, “He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house, I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him.” Jem was physically broken from the truth and was confused with why Nathan Radley had done that. As a child Jem thought only the truth was told by everyone, so when this happened he was hurt that someone would do such a