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To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: Character Analysis

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“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, shows the life of the town of Maycomb, Alabama, through the eyes of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch. Maycomb, like other Southern towns during 1933, suffers greatly during the Great Depression. However, this doesn’t stop the children from going about and having their fun. Scout and Jem play with their new friend Dill every summer, most of the times trying to scare out Boo Radley, the malevolent phantom of the town. Alas, the entire book does not provide Jem with such carefree …show more content…

He created this game to imitate and mock the lives of the Radley’s, making sure they portray the alleged idea that Boo Radley stabbed his father in the leg. Though, towards the end of the book, Jem understands what Atticus had been telling him all along about his childish acts, and ends the immature business. He begins to calm Scout down whenever she gets aggravated and learns how to comfort her during difficult situations, especially during the night when a mob came and threatened Atticus so that they could get to Tom Robinson. “The full meaning of the night’s events hit me and I began crying. Jem was awfully nice about it: for once he didn’t remind me that people nearly nine years old didn’t do things like that” (Lee 177). Jem’s ten-year-old self would have harassed Scout for crying about the night’s events, no matter how much tension there was. Howbeit, Jem understands what Scout is feeling, and decides against teasing her and accepts that sometimes, comfort is the best solution to one’s problems. The quote shows just how much Jem has matured only within his family members. In the end, Jem becomes a responsible older brother and realizes just how much tension is in the town of Maycomb and does his best to protect Scout from all …show more content…

People like Judge Taylor. People like Mr. Heck Tate. Stop eating and start thinking, Jem. Did it ever strike you that Judge Taylor naming Atticus to defend that boy was no accident? That Judge Taylor might have had his reasons for naming him?’” (Lee 246) This explanation from Miss Maudie caused Jem and Scout to think about the trial and understand what all happened, and why it occurred. Jem feels angry and disappointed at Maycomb because they couldn’t get past their racist thoughts and beliefs, and see that all the evidence presented in court showed that Tom Robinson was innocent. Jem’s disappointment is assuaged and is, instead, replaced with determinedness to one day, being able to give innocent black men the same fate as innocent white men. Eventually, Jem recovers from the trauma he faced during the trial and returns to his positive and uplifting self. Throughout the book, Harper Lee never really showed the emotions Jem was feeling, except in a select few scenes. Jem was a positive boy and would do his best to comfort Scout using his good-natured attitude. For example, when Scout gets angry at Aunt Alexandra for her telling not to invite Walter Cunningham home, Jem does his best to calm Scout down by showing her his newly grown in chest

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568 Words | 3 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem, or Jeremy Atticus Finch, is Scout's brother, and throughout the story he changes and matures a lot through a series of stages. First, you have the event that caused this, the trial, then you have the influence that it put upon Jem ,and lastly, how he had overall changed from the experience. After Tom's Trial, when Tom is deemed guilty and goes to jail, Jem is mad because he feels it's unfair. Jem realizes that his outlook on law was rather naive and that there's much more to it, and that his ways of thinking were childish as shown when he is speaking to Atticus, “How could they do it, how could they?’’

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1068 Words | 5 Pages

To begin, after the fire at Miss Maudie’s, Jem learns that Boo Radley put a blanket around Scout, he decided to come clean. “Jem seemed to have lost his mind. He began pouring out our secrets right and left in total discretion for my safety, if not his own, omitting nothing, knot-hole, pants and all”(Lee 98). This demonstrates Jem’s maturity because he did not have to tell Atticus everything about what they have done to Boo Radley, but because he felt bad because they had the wrong impression of Boo he told Atticus everything. The second time is after Jem looked like he would bother Boo Radley and Atticus told him not to Jem decided that he would leave Boo Radley alone.

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885 Words | 4 Pages

People like Judge Taylor. People like Mr. Heck Tate. Stop eating and start thinking, Jem. Did it ever strike you that Judge Taylor naming Atticus to defend that boy was no accident? That Judge Taylor might have had his reasons for naming him?”

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1177 Words | 5 Pages

He was seen as childish but grew into a responsible young man with a sense of maturity. He strongly looks up to his father and plans to follow his career path of law. Jem undergoes a series of conflicts in the book, as he hadn’t been exposed into the real world yet. In chapter 22, “‘It’s like bein’ a caterpillar in a

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1974 Words | 8 Pages

Jem shows maturity and growth throughout the novel. In chapter two of the book, it is Scout’s first day of school and she has a disagreement with the new teacher Miss Caroline. Scout let the teacher know she made a mistake trying to offer Walter Cunningham lunch money when he doesn't have any.

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Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout 's perception of courage drastically changes their behavior as they mature. They learn a lot about courage throughout the novel from their father Atticus and what they learn from him influences their choices and opinions. Although Jem is older than Scout, they both experience change in their behavior. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is still a young boy. He is defiant towards Atticus, he plays all the usual childhood games with Scout and Dill, and he engages in the younger children’s obsession with Boo Radley.

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646 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus tells Jem to take his sister and travel home, but Jem openly defies Atticus and refuses to leave as a result of maturing. When Atticus tells him to go home to the Maycomb Jail “Jem shook his head” and as they face off “[Scout] could see little resemblance between them: Jem’s soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug-fitting ears were [their] mother’s, contrasting oddly with Atticus’s graying black hair and square-cut features, but they were somehow alike; mutual defiance made them alike” (Lee 173). Jem matures and develops his personality directly as a result of his insubordination to Atticus. Jem’s defiance towards Atticus is the dominant example of him building his personality, but his later disobedience to Calapurnia is

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864 Words | 4 Pages

Scout looks up to Jem, greatly values his opinion on many different topics and trusts him completely. She follows his lead on may things such as when Atticus enquire about the nature of a game they are playing which depicts Boo Radley , “ Jems evasion told me our game was a secret so I kept quiet.” (Page 45) Jem in turn enjoys spending time with her and adores her.

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706 Words | 3 Pages

According to the novel, “Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody... Atticus said..”Jem was growing. I must be patient with him and disturb him as little as possible,” (115). After the second part begins it is obvious that Scout feels like something has come between them.

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822 Words | 4 Pages

Jem, a young and smart boy develops and matures through many unique situations in the novel. Jem is exposed to the harsh belief, judgement and circumstances of the court at a very young age. Following his father, Jem involves himself in the trial between Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell yet takes Tom’s side due to his father's involvement. Jem slowly loses faith in the justice system and is faced with a loss of innocence as explained by Scout“It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.

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1302 Words | 6 Pages

As Jem Finch grows up, he changes his perspective changes. He teaches- or tries to- Scout to see the other side of the story. In the beginning of the story, when Dill was first introduced, Dill had suggested doing a make believe game of Boo and his family. Jem agreed to go along with the game and took immense pleasure in partaking in it.

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697 Words | 3 Pages

Jem’s Maturity & Morality Morality and maturity can be seen through the protagonist Jem through the events and lessons learned from the injustices of racism and inequality. Jem shows his growth throughout To Kill a Mockingbird with him maturing and realizing his morality. Throughout the book, Jem can be seen maturing through the influence of other characters in the book which help him see and process what is happening in adult scenarios. Atticus plays a major role in Jem’s growth with Jem wanting to be like him and with Atticus’s guidance Jem learns from him. At the beginning of the story, Jem acted naive and rude towards others but as the story progressed we can see that Jem slowly matures into an intelligent and courageous young man through events such as Ms. Dubose death and the day of the trial.

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530 Words | 3 Pages

Some people have more fun than others. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a young boy named Dill possesses all the characteristics needed to have a great time. Dill, a six-year-old child when the story begins, sees life differently than others in his small Southern world. Odd and mysterious things obsessively interest him, he has a wild imagination, and he shows sympathy to the outcasts in his racially divided culture. His curiosity, creativity, and compassion provide him with a unique view of the world.

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951 Words | 4 Pages

He becomes more mature. Meanwhile, he steps into the adult world. From the Tom Robinson case, he discovers how brave and just his father really is, for his father doesn’t follow what everybody else does, and instead follows his conscience, stands up and speak for the colored people as a white individual. This incident deeply influences Jem, he begins to understand the importance of treating everyone and everything with respect. In Chapter 25, he sees Scout playing with a roly-poly insect and she tends to smash it.

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Jem, Scout, and Dill also play taunting games involving Boo. Scout explains that Jem made up a game called “Boo Radley.” This game was meant to prove the bravery of someone. They would play out Boo Radley’s life, and as the summer went on, their game became more complex, and so did their imaginations. When the Tom Robinson trial is going on, Jem and Scout decide to sneak in and see what all of the town fuss was about.

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