Character Development In Jem And Scout Finch The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” takes place in the 1930’s where the black people are the lowest in Maycomb’s hierarchy. Jem and Scout transform into whole new people by the end of the novel. Jem was a curious kid who was really immature. Scout was a naive girl who had no understanding of the outside world. Their father Atticus was a lawyer who had taken on the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson was a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Both the kids undergo significant character development during the trial by learning how to empathize with others and form their own opinions on the world around them. As I had stated, Jem was very immature at the beginning of the book. He …show more content…
They understand their father’s lesson and this allows them to grow as people. In the beginning of the book the Jem and Scout were embarrassed by Atticus. They saw him as a boring, old man . They didn’t like that he was a lawyer because they didn’t understand his job. When Atticus took on the Tom Robinson case the kids had mixed feelings about it. The whole town disapproved of Atticus taking on the case and they had taken part of it out on Jem and Scout. Slowly with the help of their dad, they began to understand the courage and integrity their dad had to be a lawyer and put himself in this position. In chapter fifteen, Jem, Scout and Dill followed Atticus to the courthouse where they witnessed Atticus not allowing the mob to take out Tom. After the kids had witnessed that, they were very impressed and proud of their father for standing up for what he believed was right. In chapter 25 Scout had said, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 276). This is when Scout had the realization that her father was never going to win. After witnessing all this bravery of Atticus, Jem and Scout were proud of him. In terms of maturing, the kids grew to understand the power