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Innocence And Growth In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Hunter Beck 2nd Innocence and Growth To Kill a Mockingbird had multiple characters mature and change as it got closer to the end of the book. Jem had the most change out of everyone. Jem went from a kid that was childish and not thinking about what he did or consequences to acting like a big brother and mature enough to know what’s right and wrong for both him and Scout.Jem started maturing enough to where Scout started to realize that he was maturing quickly and started acting more adult than he was before. Jem at the start of the book didn’t have much matureness to him if he had any at all. He stayed inside of a tree because Atticus wouldn’t play football with him, that doesn’t display being mature at all. Jem being a big brother to Scout …show more content…

When Jem and Dill rolled Scout down a hill inside a tire and went down to the Radley house he realized the danger that he had put her in. If Arthur Radley was who they say he is, Jem could have potentially gotten her kidnapped or killed. Jem thinking about the danger that Scout was in could have a major impact on how he started to develop and mature throughout the rest of the book. Jem realizing what he had done he started to act more like an adult and take care of Scout more than he already did, showing a part of maturity and noticing his mistake and trying to make up for …show more content…

Jem saw Atticus as a perfect father figure and a perfect person. As the story went on Jem slowly started to realize that Atticus isn’t a perfect person like he had thought. Jem learning more about how people like his father and sister aren’t perfect was a good part of him maturing and understanding people better and sees things differently from other people's point of view. Him seeing people that he is with everyday and knows who they are makes it easier for him to realize different things about other people and different situations they could be in that are different from him and his family. Jem learned that you can’t judge people before you know them or understand why they do something. The Tom Robinson trial was a major event for Jem to experience and grow overall as a person. Jem seeing how the town didn’t believe him and Atticus and found Tom Robinson guilty made him realize the failure in the justice system and notice not everything is perfectly made up as it should be. The trial made Jem start to understand the world that he lives in and how wrong and unlawful the town he lives in can be based on a person's skin color. Seeing the outcome of the trial was an important part of how Jem would see the people of his community and the people around

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811 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem grows from a little boy to an intelligent young man. Throughout the book, he discerns many things that shape his personality. As Jem grows, he learns how bad society is and that not everyone is perfect. Fortunately for Jem, this ends up helping him and he finds out that Atticus is a hero and that he should look up to Atticus. Through Atticus and the trial, Jem loses his innocence by learning about prejudice, bravery, and that the justice system is crippled.

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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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1548 Words | 7 Pages

Jem's actions foreshadow how there will be more to come, likely where he will take more substantial risks. Harper Lee tries to start a progressing trend almost where Jem starts to do more dangerous things to stand up for others. She foreshadows how eventually Jem will get hurt because he is just a boy doing what he thinks is right. We see this when

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487 Words | 2 Pages

When she talked to him, she felt a sense of comfort, but guilt for treating him the way she did all of those previous years. Along with Scout, Jem also learned lessons from Atticus. Jem learned to have courage, even if the situation seemed impossible or hopeless. This played a part in Jem’s life when he didn’t want to help Mrs. Dubose. However, Atticus made Jem help her.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

The major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is the loss of innocence. Not only do Scout and Jem lose their innocence, but other characters do as well. Scout and Jem grow up throughout the book, as they are exposed to the realities of racism, hatred and child abuse. They witness racism in the Tom Robinson case when Mayella Ewell claims he took advantage of her, when it was really Bob Ewell that did it. The court voted Tom Robinson guilty because he was African American, and most of the town would have been furious if a white man was convicted over a black man.

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539 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus is letting Jem grow into a better, more mature, and braver person. The child-like bravery in Jem has slowly matured Jem to lose that child-like

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844 Words | 4 Pages

The town already sees the Finch’s as a odd family because Atticus defends African Americans, so he didn 't want that to happen to Jem. A result of these events Jem developed to become more

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520 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout 's perception of courage drastically changes their behavior as they mature. They learn a lot about courage throughout the novel from their father Atticus and what they learn from him influences their choices and opinions. Although Jem is older than Scout, they both experience change in their behavior. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is still a young boy. He is defiant towards Atticus, he plays all the usual childhood games with Scout and Dill, and he engages in the younger children’s obsession with Boo Radley.

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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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847 Words | 4 Pages

He is seen as a moody and annoying teenage boy, but in reality he's extremely protective of his younger sister Scout. Jem throughout the novel constantly tries to protect Scout, Scout sees it as being told what to do and hates it but it's just Jem being protective. He tries to hide the certain details of the court case to protect his sister and most importantly he risks her life for her when she was being attacked by Bob Ewell. After the trial, Bob Ewell had his reputation destroyed and he went to seek revenge by attacking people who played a major role in the trial. Bob runs after Jem and Scout and attempts to kill them, throughout this whole scuffle Jem constantly tries to protect Scout.

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931 Words | 4 Pages

Also, in chapter 22, when Aunt Alexandra asks about Jem's total shock at the trial's result that Tom was guilty, Atticus says that he has "made it this way for [Jem]" (243), indicating that he supports Jem's right to see the trial events. This justifies that Atticus encourages Jem to taking on the harsh truth about the world and his responsibilities, showing that from Atticus's point of view, Jem has lost his childhood innocence. Finally, Scout's remark in chapter 26 that "when [Jem is] able to think about it, [he] would be himself again" (283) stabilizes that Jem has changed completely. The buildup of these

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592 Words | 3 Pages

Those experience made him realize he has to grow up and become a better person. The reader now understands that Jem learned to become mature and came of age with the help of his surroundings and what he has experienced with the neighborhood and his

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1138 Words | 5 Pages

This is when he went out of control and lost all of the maturity he had. He could no longer take Mrs.Dubose’s insulting comments. This was a terrible decision yet others would have been tempted to do the same thing. As a punishment, Jem is forced to read to

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747 Words | 3 Pages

As Jem starts to mature, his body language and use of words also start to show his overall maturity and his loss of innocence. Specifically, he acts exactly like his father,

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740 Words | 3 Pages

One lesson in the book that I feel Jem learns as a part of growing up is moral courage. Atticus once told Jem that “courage is [not] a man with a gun in his hand. It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Jem had always seen bravery as important and often tried to show the courage in him but only learnt about what moral courage really was through a series events that took place in the book.

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