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Who Is Jem Finch A Role Model In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Scout would hear of Tom Robinson’s story but wouldn’t view it as she does now and we would view the story without the insight of a young man who questions the traditional methods of prejudice. These would be the repercussions if Jem Finch was not included as a character in the classic story To Kill a Mockingbird. In the story, Scout, a young child, and her older brother Jem witness the trial of a black man Tom Robinson. Tom is convicted of rape because of the prejudice of the people of Maycomb county Alamba, where Scout and Jem live. Jem’s character gives the reader a unique perspective, Scout an older brother, and Boo Radley, the closest thing to a friend he’ll ever have.
No other character would be able to supply the same kind of insight that Jem can. He is in a very unique situation both because of his age and his father’s differing views. As a teenager …show more content…

It is because Scout and Jem are so young during the story that they are so incredibly impressionable and Scout being even younger than Jem is even more respective to outside influence. Considering that Scout spends most of her time at school or at home the people in those places are going to be the ones who influence her most. Moreover, Jem is probably the most influential to her character as he is present in both of these places. For example, when Jem suggests that they play “Boo Radley” and even though Scout is weary about it she follows through because Jem convinces her. One day over the summer Jem tells Scout and Dill, “I know what we’re going to play,” he announced, “Something new, something different… Boo Radley,”... “Scout how’s he gonna know what we’re doing?” (Lee 51). Scout decides to play despite her fears because of Jem and the influence he has on her. Just as Jem provides Scout with an older brother he provides Boo Radley with a

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem grows from a little boy to an intelligent young man. Throughout the book, he discerns many things that shape his personality. As Jem grows, he learns how bad society is and that not everyone is perfect. Fortunately for Jem, this ends up helping him and he finds out that Atticus is a hero and that he should look up to Atticus. Through Atticus and the trial, Jem loses his innocence by learning about prejudice, bravery, and that the justice system is crippled.

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Atticus, being a lawyer, decides to defend Tom in his case because he feels that it is the right thing to do, since he knew no one else would; due to the fact that Tom was black. Tom was a man accused of rape and was found guilty even though the evidence clearly proved otherwise. Jem and Scout mature a lot during

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After Tom Robinson’s trial Jem talks to scout about how "if there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?"(Lee 162). Jem realizes that not everyone is treated the same whether it be because of their skin, like Tom, or the way they act, like Boo Radley. He's learning that people are treated differently even though all men are created equally. Jem is coming of age and realizing the world is not the same as he had once seen.

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1637 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the story, begins to notice the truth about Maycomb and the rest of the world. As the story progresses, Scout is able to depict how discrimination, racism, and segregation are present within the society that she lives in. This arises when her father, Atticus Finch, is representing an African American man, Tom Robinson, who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman. Robinson is put on trial and found guilty, thus showing Scout and her brother, Jem, that their town is not as innocent as it seems, consequently making them more knowledgeable about

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549 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is a story about inequality, injustice and racism seen through the eyes of two innocent children, Jem and Scout. Jem and Scout live in Maycomb, Alabama and learn these sad lessons through their relationships with their father Atticus, their maid Calpurnia, their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of a terrible crime. Through their relationship with Boo and Tom, Jem and Scout learn about racism and inequality that changes how they see the world. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are two different people who share similar struggles with inequality throughout this story. Boo and Tom experience a form of racism and discrimination.

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844 Words | 4 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about two kids, Jem and Scout, and their childhood in their small town Maycomb, Alabama. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout were two innocent kids playing in the summer sun, until school came along. Jem was about twelve throughout the novel and Scout was eight, and considering that Jem was twelve in the novel, he was changing. During the middle of the novel a rape trial occurred, which included a black man being accused by a white woman of first-degree rape. Atticus, the kid’s father was defending the african american man; Tom Robinson.

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647 Words | 3 Pages

When the guilty verdict was returned, the severe injustice destroyed his childhood naivety. Obviously, the adversity in this scene is the extreme racial prejudice against Tom. Jem’s individual identity is shaped from this whole trial because of the unfairness of the racial prejudice of the jury in court, as it leaves him disillusioned and his childhood innocence lost. His faith in the Alabama justice system is diminished because he realises it’s very flawed. “It was Jem’s turn to cry” (p.284) “It ain’t Atticus.

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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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741 Words | 3 Pages

Jem displays empathy towards Tom Robinson because he feels that just because of Tom’s colored skin he is not treated fairly. Tom Robinson is convicted guilty for taking advantage of a white woman. Tom was clearly innocent but still given the death sentence. Jem cries about the ruling in the court and Atticus help him understand that somethings happen just because the color of someone's

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769 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem, Scout, and Dill’s innocence is destroyed causing them to lose their carefree and happy self after witnessing the ignorance and racism against the African-American citizens in their hometown of Maycomb. Prior to the traumatic events, the children believe everyone in Maycomb is friendly. They did not realize the racism occurring in their town until Tom Robinson’s trial. After spectating the Tom Robinson trial, the children’s view of some of the people in their town change because of their hatred against black and the injustice in the courtroom. Tom is a black man convicted of raping a white girl and despite the evidences that are on Robinson’s side, he is found guilty and is sentenced to

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1511 Words | 7 Pages

While Scout is less knowledgeable of the trial, she sees Jem and how “... his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them,”(282). Jem is watching his father go against the beliefs of the majority of Maycomb, while trying to prove an innocent man free of his accused actions. Jem puts himself in Tom’s situation, fully able to comprehend the importance of the case. He takes the pain Tom Robinson must be experiencing into himself, knowing how this verdict is changing someone’s life forever. Jem’s mature knowledge and awareness makes him a compassionate person, which is what Atticus had always aspired for his son to be.

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1759 Words | 8 Pages

Scout faces a lot of pressure throughout the novel from a bunch of different characters, they all play a huge role on the influence of female identity. The first two people who influence Scout are Jem and Dill. Jem and Dill continue to exclude her whenever they are together. Jem and Dill are two of Scout’s closest friends until one day they stoped hanging out with her. Scout believes that the reason they disclude her is that they think it is time that Scout starts becoming more like a girl.

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1042 Words | 5 Pages

Before. Atticus is able to affirm Tom’s innocence, a mob of men attempts to kill Tom at the jail, however, Atticus is standing guard while Jem, Scout, and Dill see what is going on. As the men approach and prepare for a fight Jem helps his father stand his ground and refuses to leave, by shaking his head and standing firmly, which lets Scout know that, “from the way he stood Jem was not thinking of budging” (Lee 173). Although a small act, Jem’s persistence to stay at the jail reflects his compassion for his dad and Tom since he will not let them get hurt. At the end of the book Bob Ewell, the man who accused Tom of raping his daughter, seeks vengeance on Atticus, so he attacks Scout and Jem.

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722 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Plan Thesis: The three main protagonists of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout, Jem, and Dill) both learn and demonstrate empathy through the story. Directional Statement: The characters demonstrate empathy to Boo Radley both after the trial and after Scout walks him back home, and they learn about empathy during Tom Robinson's testimony. Body Paragraph 1: Point: Jem demonstrates empathy towards Boo Radley after Tom Robinson is convicted of raping a white woman. Proof: Right after the trial, and Tom Robinson has been convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, Jem starts to understand why Boo Radley doesn't come out of his house: "I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all the time...

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615 Words | 3 Pages

As the book progresses Scout is having constant difficulty with her lack of maturation. Many problems are starting to occur in the book, and they are problems that she just doesn't understand yet. Scout is still young and doesn’t quite understand why she isnt told everything, and why she isn’t just as mature as Jem. “ That’s because you can’t hold something in your mind but a little while, said Jem. It’s different with grown folks, we-”

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