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Jem Finch Character Analysis Essay

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As a little boy dealing with the death of an old ill-tempered neighbor to the unsettling conclusion of an unfair trial of an African American man, Jem Finch had grown significantly. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main protagonist’s older brother, Jem Finch faces many challenges that makes him grow. Jem also faces the injustice of Tom Robinson an African American who had been accused of raping a white woman that his father Atticus is defending. During those events Jem’s coming of age develops with conflict, characterization, and mood. First, Jem has an internal conflict with himself when he finds out that Mrs. Dubose has passed away. Prior to her passing, Jem grew angry at her for bad mouthing Atticus and destroyed her white camellia flower bushes and as a punishment he had to go to her house and read to her for an entire month. When Atticus hands Jem a candy box that contains a white camellia flower from Mrs. Dubose Jem is shocked. “Jem’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. ‘Old hell-devil, old hell-devil!’ He screamed, flinging it down. “Why can’t she leave me alone?”(128). After Atticus comforts him during his breakdown, Jem throws away the candy box and keeps …show more content…

In the book, Scout the main protagonist and Jem’s little sister, asks Atticus if Jem has tapeworm because he had been acting moody with an atrocious appetite, but Atticus said no and that Jem was just growing. Scout also asks Calpurnia the family cook why she called Jem ‘mister Jem” and she answers Scout’s question saying “Yeah, he’s just about a Mister Jem now...I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growin’ up” (131). This shows that Jem is a dynamic character because this evidence shows that he’s grown up a lot since the beginning of the story and everyone around him has noticed the change in him. Jem being a dynamic character continues the coming of age process of

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