Jem Finch Stereotypes

He constantly makes or doesn’t make certain decisions in the hopes that his connection to others will remain as good as possible. He doesn’t perform a single action without thinking about how it makes others feel or the impression he gives about himself. The best example of this is the relationship he has with his father. Regarding the night that Jem’s curiosity drove him to sneak behind the Radley house, Scout wants to inform their father of the events that occurred. In response, Jem says, “‘I—it’s like this, Scout,’ he muttered. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way’” (Lee 75). Here, Jem shows his driving ambition to be seen as an admirable son in the eyes of his father. While this choice may also present a sense of dishonesty, it is later shown that Jem regretted disturbing the Radley home in the first place when he says, “‘I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside’” (Lee 304). So, even though he’s concerned with the way that others think of him, the way he accomplishes this is to make changes to himself for the better. This is shown during the trial as well. When Jem supports Tom Robinson, whether it is for the approval of his father, the black community, or even himself, the motive doesn’t necessarily matter, so long as he actually

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, characters are used to demonstrate the misjudgement by others in society. Arthur “Boo” Radley is thought of in a very dimensional and untrue way by the children. Dolphus Raymond makes unnoticed compromises in order to live in the community which he does not fit in. Tom Robinson is a kind and humble African American, who is misjudged by society due to the colour of his skin. Lee uses characterisation to show readers how society judges others.

Though he isn’t completely in the dark about the way people are treated in society, but he doesn’t fully understand the whole concept of people getting treated differently, instead he only understands what Atticus has told him. The first time we see a side of who Jem really is, is when Scout gets into a fight with Walter Cunningham in the playground and Jem breaks it up. When this happens we see that Jem is already influenced by society and particularly by Atticus. When Jem breaks up the fight, it shows that he already has his mind made up that people shouldn’t be hurt or beaten up for a poor reason. Atticus has already taught Jem that just because someone hurts you, you shouldn’t just go and hurt them back. Having heard from Atticus that the Cunningham’s are poor and do not have a lot of possessions or accessories, Jem knows that they should be treated with utmost respect instead of being bullied and treated badly. From this even though it is at the beginning of the book we see that Jem is respectful though easily influenced by those around

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea of prejudice is evident in Maycomb County, Alabama. Three main characters from the novel fall victim to prejudice throughout the story. Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson all face challenges that disable them from living a normal life. These character’s stories of social injustice are narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl who discovers many ugly truths while growing up in a town full of inequality.

In the novel to Kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee, readers can see Jem finch mature and grow. He learns more about life but loses some of his innocence along the way. He had his own opinions on his father; Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson’s trial. Throughout the story he gains the knowledge of pure hate and how cruel one can be to another man. He realizes the idea of why Atticus feels the need to defend Tom. His thought of Maycomb began to change which corresponds to the idea that he lost a lot too. He then learns to not be segregational like the rest of the Maycomb crowd. Therefore, in the beginning of the novel, Jem is focused on playing games and wanting to learn how to shoot; however, by the end of the story, he learns the importance of defending

As seen in this quote readers are able to see how discrimination pushes mindsets to choose herd mentality or individuality. Here readers can see that Jem understands the wrong and that he chooses to believe in his own thoughts and ideas about it. Though he is at a loss what to do about it. Another quote that shows he sees the wrong in the town's ways is when he is talking with Miss Maudie. “Who?’ Jem’s voice rose. ‘Who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who?” (Lee 246). This shows how he feels about the trial and the prejudice that arises in the trial.

“When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind, and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised,” (Forbes). If a person judges someone by a stereotype surrounding them, instead of noticing the subject’s identity and personality, the person who is judging does not see the true essence of the person. This can lead to misunderstandings between groups of people, just because both parties fail to see the other side for who they truly are. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, and in Every Falling Star, Sunju Lee, learned to see past the stereotypes that applied to members of their community and accepted other people for who they were, instead of what they first appeared to be. Stereotypes influenced the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by how

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience , but where he stands in time of challenge and controversy” as quoted by Martin Luther King Junior.The true persona and character of an individual is revealed when they are faced with privation and hardship.This is evidently clear in Harper Lee’s 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” through the characters of Atticus Finch, Arthur “Boo” Radley and Jem Finch.Within these characters the corresponding theme of courage is highlighted which allows them to seek justice and equality.The tough times experienced during the time period strengthens Atticus to seek justice for a convicted African American (Tom Robinson), demands Jem to defend Atticus when a lynch mob

Jem has proved himself as an unlikely hero. Jem has been able to draw his own conclusions and have his own ideas on racism, even though he has grown up in an old, settled town firm in their ways. Jem cried when Atticus lost his Tom Robinson case as he said: “’It ain’t

Jem is exposed to the racism and prejudice of the South through Tom Robinson’s trial, and it makes him question what he never thought twice about before. [insert lead-in] “‘...if the jury’s still out, you can wait with us. But I expect it’ll be over before you get back.’ ‘You think they’ll acquit him that fast?’ asked Jem. Atticus opened his mouth to answer, but shut it and then left us.” (p.277) Jem sees Tom Robinson’s trial through eyes untainted by prejudice and discrimination. To him, Tom is obviously innocent. Atticus, on the other hand, is older and more cynical. He knows about racial discrimination, he knows it strongly influences a person’s judgement, and he knows Tom will be found guilty. Jem realizes this when Tom Robinson is convicted. As a result, he learns that racism can cloud a person’s judgement to the point that they will convict an innocent man. Jem’s loss of innocence

While the trial was going on, Jem knew Tom Robinson should be declared not-guilty. But, when the verdict of guilty was being announced, Jem was very agitated, “his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them,” (282). This line demonstrates how unsettled Jem was while hearing the verdict. Also, Jem stuck up for Walter Cunningham. When Scout had asked if she could invite Walter Cunningham over, and Aunt Alexandra explained he can not come over because he is not their kind of folks, Jem tried to reason with Aunt Alexandra. Jem would always focus and judge others based on their behaviour, not their skin tone or their background. Jem’s action, beliefs, and thoughts reveal the tragedies and

In To Kill A Mockingbird Jem starts to understand the racism that is Maycomb county and how it affects everything. During the trial with Tom Robinson Jem starts to understand how racism is affecting the trial and the reason Atticus chose to represent to Tom Robinson even though Atticus thought he would probably be convicted cause he is black. Jem learnt that there is a lot of racist people in maycomb and that he will probably be convicted cause most of the jury were racists. Jems says “you just can't convict a man on evidence like that- you can’t” this proves that he understands that you can't convict a man just because you are racist and think black People always do bad stuff. Another example where jem realizes racism in maycomb is he notices the way

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows the exaggerated tension between races was unjustified through the reveal of the Finch’s unbiased perspective towards African Americans and segregation. Before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, a large portion of the southern community judged based on skin color, but the Finch’s showed that there was a chance of a world where everyone was equal and isn’t discriminated on a daily basis.