Jem starts to see himself as an older person and he participates in the gossip around town, most of which consist of Boo Radley. Part of him is still childish in a sense that he still imagines Boo as some type of savage. When “Jem was twelve” he starts to annoy Scout “he was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody” (Lee 153). Scout is having problems with his new attitude, but all Atticus said was that he was a growing boy. Not only did Jem grow physically, but now he was growing mentally, worldly, and more responsible.
Throughout the story, Jem (taken from the word gem meaning a cherished and prized person) is used by Harper Lee as a representation of courage. In the beginning, Jem’s first act of courage occurs when Jem accepts Dill’s provocation to go and touch the Radley house. In the story, Scout says, “In all his life, Jem has never declined a dare” (Lee 16). This quote shows how Jem would never demur any sort of challenge, even if it involved stupid or childish acts like going to a forbidden place. Scout also shows how Jem even accepted a dare from her to jump off the roof of the house as a kid.
Additionally, courage shines through Jem when he goes to the Radley house with Dill and Scout one night. The three characters went up to the Radley house to see inside. In the process of trying to look inside, Mr. Radley thought a black person had come into his yard instead of the children, so he fired a shotgun to scare the uninvited visitors away. This was very courageous for Jem, as well as the two younger children, to go to the house. They all had heard many stories about the house, but they went anyway.
In “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jem tries to do what is right and demonstrates that Jem is very courageous. Jem does many things to show that he is courageous. Jem loses his pants on the Radley’s fence and he tells Scout “I’m goin’ after ‘em”(Lee,56). Jem feels that it is right for him to get his pants back before Atticus realizes what he, Scout, and Dill tried to do. Earlier when Scout finished her first day and fears that school will always be just as bad as the first and “Jem assured [her] that the older [she] got the better school would be”(Lee,...).
At the beginning of the book, Jem is an innocent child. He takes part in the Boo Radley game with no regard to the people in the Radley house that can hear him and the other children making fun of Boo. Jem soon begins to realize that Boo is more than just childhood superstition and he is not the monster that the town makes him out to be. Jem’s view of what bravery is grows throughout the story, as well. At the beginning of the book, Jem’s definition of bravery is touching the Radley house and he believes himself to be brave because, “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare” (Lee, p.13).
As the novel begins, Jem Finch appears to readers as a frightened boy. Lee directly implied Jem’s childish fears in the first paragraph of her book, saying, “When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury” (3). As the quote states, early in the book Lee expressed where Jem’s childish fear started and how it eventually grew into more child-like brave actions. Lee portrays Jem as a frightened boy when, “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm, and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful”(15). This event describes Jem's childlike behavior to be perceived as brave by Dill and his little sister Scout.
Jem learns about bravery from Atticus when he faced a mad dog, when Dill says that Jem is too scared to put his toe in the Radley's front yard. Eventually, Dill makes a bet with Jem saying that he can't touch the Radley house. Jem was scared but he overcame that fear and ran up and touched the house. when scout confronted the mob who was after Atticus and Tom Robinson, and from Mrs. Dubose's fight with addiction. Jem also showed his bravery when Bob Ewell attacked Him and Scout, he tries to protect his little sister from getting
Throughout the novel, Jem shows courageous behaviours and the courage definition changes over time, as Jem ages from 10 to 13 throughout the novel . At the beginning of the novel, Jem was 10 years old only , and his idea of courage is as simple as touching the side of the Radley house, and then only because "In all his life, Jem had never said no to a dare.”(pg.14). But as the story progresses, Jem learns more about courage and bravery from Atticus facing a mad dog (a literal scene of a dog with rabies that has to be put down) ,also from Mrs. Dubose's fight with addiction and her willingness to face her illness head-on although she knows that it's going to take her life. One of the most courageous act for Jem is when the mob confronts Atticus
“Jem’s head at times was transparent; he had thought that up to make me understand he wasn’t afraid of Radley’s in any shape or form, to contrast his own fearless heroism with my cowardice”(Lee 43). Despite Jem’s deceptive and misleading character, it is aforementioned that Jem is a “normal” kid. He loves playing football, climbing trees, and getting rough and dirty.
Jem is the action taker and represents the idea of bravery in this novel; you can see this throughout the whole story. Jem overcomes his fears and stands up for himself and others. When the story begins, Jem's idea of bravery is running up and touching the Radley’s door just because "In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare. " We can assume Jem has found this bravery from his age and from the characters around him.
While Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is told through Scout’s perspective, Jem’s loss of innocence is the most tragic. In the beginning of To Kill A Mockingbird Jem and Scout both act like little kids, however as the novel progresses Jem begins to grow up much faster than Scout. When Jem tries to tell Scout that she needs to let Atticus work, he ostracizes her by
As the novel begins, Jem 's idea of bravery is simply touching the side of the Radley house, a dare given by Dill to Jem to prove whether Jem was capable of finishing or even attempting to do a dare. “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare” (Lee, p.14). This tells us that Jem had a personality of bravery as he had never declined a dare also he stood up to those who would hurt his family and friends and as the story progresses in chapter 15, Atticus goes to guard the Maycomb jail where Tom was being held captive. A vexed mob came to the jail seeking to harm Tom. When the mob approached, the children, who had been watching, came to Atticus 's aid.
Jem had the courage to go back to the Radley House fence and get his pants even though he had a frightening run in. Jem was unaware of what the consequences could’ve been if the Radleys had spotted or heard him come back to the house. Jem’s act of bravery shows that risks may need to be taken at times. In addition, When Jem was forced to read to Mrs. Dubose for a month, in return for destroying her camellias, Jem noticed he had been staying there for longer each day, “It suddenly came to me that each day we had been staying a little longer at Mrs. Dubose’s, that the
In the historical novel ”How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee there is a girl named Scout who lives in Maycomb, Alabama with her family. Scout is a girl too smart for her age in which she will get in trouble a lot. Scout is also a tough cookie and fights for what she believes is true. So far in the book “How to kill a mockingbird” by Harper Lee Scout is going through a lot despite her young age. She has problems in school and out of it and, she is only in first grade.
The Hawaiian Islands are an incredible place to visit and explore. I have visited there twice now, and the sights are amazing. This assignment came up right after I got back from my last trip, and one thing that had my interest while I was there was the islands’ formations. Flying in the first time, I enjoyed being able to see the islands come into view after being over water for 6 hours. Doing snorkeling adventures, I visited Molokini Crater.
