Throughout their lives, most everyone goes through a period where they grow up and become more mature and responsible. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem Finch can be seen demonstrating these ideas of “coming of age” as he grows up throughout the novel. As a result of Atticus accepting the Tom Robinson case, the children have been exposed to significant topics including racism, violence, segregation, etc.. Additionally, as Jem ages from 10-13 throughout the book, and is already in a period of his life where he is maturing, the incidents that occur as a result of the trial have opened his eyes to much more. Therefore, it is evident that Jem matures throughout the novel due to his reactions to the events he is exposed to during the trial. Jem can be seen maturing when he stands up for Atticus while the mob is threatening him. There is a group of men bearing weapons that approaches Atticus while he is outside of the jailhouse, and they are attempting to force him to refrain from defending Tom Robinson. Scout sees this happening, and runs into the mob to Atticus without a thought. Jem tries to stop Scout from cutting into them, but ends up having to chase her up to Atticus. Although, once Atticus tries to to tell them to leave, Jem refuses. He, unlike Scout, …show more content…
Therefore, he chooses to stay alongside Atticus to keep the mob from being able to hurt him. After the mob has left and Atticus is walking the children home, Scout observes, “Atticus and Jem were well