Jem's Growth In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1008 Words5 Pages

Devrim G Mrs. Notarfranco Jem’s growth November 27 2017 **The chapter and page numbers follow a different Tkam copy than ours, will be fixed.** Jem’s growth (Insert intro and hook) Jem Finch has changed a lot throughout the story To kill a mockingbird. He used to be very hot-tempered, easily influenced, and he had disregard for himself and the people around him. As he became of age he has become much more protective, worrying, and sensible. Jem is a symbol of bravery throughout the story. When he was ten years old, bravery to him was touching the side of Boo Radley’s house. As the story advances, many people teach Jem what bravery really is. As an example being, when Atticus shot the rabid dog, and Scout confronting the lynching mob at the …show more content…

An example of this is him choosing to take Dill’s dare to touch the Radley house, even though Nathan Radley could mistake him for a dog or a trespasser and shoot him. The next quote shows his egocentric behavior towards being seen as brave. “Jem wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn't scared of anything: "It's just that I can't think of a way to make him come out without him getting' us." Besides, Jem had his little sister to think of.” (Chapter 1, paragraph 72). As the quote says “Jem wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn't scared of anything” we could see his behavior in that quote, he was trying to impress everyone by being the person he isn’t. Finally, with Jem getting into many fights with his sister, is hot-headed. He argues with Scout regarding her ways of expressing herself, mainly in tomboyish ways. This can start outrage on Jem’s side, thinking that his preference of Scout’s way of life is inferior to Jem’s outlook on life in general. Jem can end up saying things like: "Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home—I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!"(Chapter 6 Page 24) Scout worrying about Jem, tries to stop him from going to the Radley house, she then get’s interrupted by him saying that’s Scout’s becoming more like a girl every day. Jem being a boy, is saying that Scout becoming more like a girl for her …show more content…

He also stops fights from happening at school like Atticus stopping feuds, and he learns the true meaning of bravery, not being through guns: “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what”(Chapter 11 Page 112). Atticus talks to Jem about true courage not being about guns, but being about