Essay about Jem´s Maturity in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In this scenario, the jury that determined Tom Robinson’s guiltiness represents the Maycomb community as a whole, as the members would be randomly selected from the county. This means that Maycomb’s view overall towards the black population is negative and full of prejudice. Jem, however, highly disagrees with the outcome of the trial, making him one of the few outliers in the community. To him, it is obvious that Robinson was convicted purely because of his race due to the evidence that was given in the trial. He believes that this is unacceptable and that everyone deserves a fair trial. This moral disagreement that Jem has with society is what sparks the heart of the book, and shows his maturity and understanding of other people.

At the beginning of the book, he was doing anything that he was dared to do and believing that he was courageous. However, towards the middle of the book, Jem had started to mature. His actions towards Scout about her actions showed that he had begun to mature, since he wasn’t as tolerable towards childish actions, but not mature enough to hold his temper. Early in the book, Jem innocently played with Scout and Dill; he used his imagination, took dares, and ran around town. In the middle of the book, Jem was at a stage where he did not want to play with Dill and Scout because he claimed that they were too immature for him, a mature middle-school boy; however, his actions towards both of them were not showing of this self-proclaimed maturity.

Tom Robinson’s trial was a hard one to watch, but it was so intriguing for the kids. Jem, Dill, and Scout just had to watch, so they left their house without permission to go see their dad defend Tom Robinson against Mayella Ewell. Jem thought that Atticus had a good chance at winning due to his cross-examination questions and the evidence he had. Once all of the jury’s votes came in unanimously as guilty, Jem started to realize what a twisted thing racism was. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty … guilty… guilty...guilty” I peeked over at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 282). This quote really shows that Jem cares deeply for the trial and Tom Robinson. He does not understand why people are so rude to black people just because of skin color and he just wants everything to be equal. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. “It ain’t right,” he muttered” (Lee 284). Jem’s anger reflected the unfairness towards Tom Robinson and the fact that justice was not served. During the trial Jem never seemed too phased by Bob Ewell’s attorney Mr. Gilmer clearly showing that Tom was worthless, because he thought that his dad was a

The whole town of Maycomb is racist, which makes Atticus’s job harder trying to defend Tom Robinson against the word of a white man.Tom Robinson’s case is unjust since he is black and the majority of Maycomb revert to the stereotype that all blacks are immoral and criminals. “Quote” shows that it is a situation where little is possible to do when defending a black man because the town of Maycomb is deeply affected by racism they tend to only make decisions based on the race and so immediately think Tom Robinson is guilty, that he did indeed raped Mayella when there was so much evidence to prove otherwise. This is challenging for Atticus, since he has to persuade everyone to pretend there is no stereotype about blacks and that they are human

In To Kill a Mockingbird Jem is no longer childlike because he no longer thinks and acts a child and shows compassion for others and the truth. Jem comes of age because he now thinks and acts like an adult and can be considerate of others. The experiences showed him compassion for life the need to do the right thing and the understanding that not everything in life is

As the novel progresses, both Jem and Scout are shown to mature, this is due to "To Kill A Mockingbird" being a bildungsroman novel. Through this coming of age process, we are actually shown Jem’s new found maturity enabling him to find empathy and acceptance regarding the Boo Radley myths, as he finally took his father’s advice to “climb into someone else’s skin and walk around in it” when he was explaining to Scout his epiphany that he “[is] beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut in his house all this time. It’s because he wants to stay inside.”

As Jem was eating Miss Maudie’s cake, she explains to him how Atticus had to have defended Tom because “he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that” (183), showing that Atticus had to be appointed to the case for a reason, and that reason was he's the only person who could get an all-white jury to really think about the conviction of a black man. Normally, an all-white jury would convict a black man for any crime in a significantly shorter amount of time since it’s always a white person’s word against a black person’s word which doesn’t hold strongly in court; nevertheless, Atticus seemed to be able to get to them because the jury took longer than usual to convict a case that would have been quick and effortless. Since he wore out the jury out for that long, Atticus is recognized as the person the good people of Maycomb solely trusts to create the change that their town so desperately needs. As it turns out, Scout thinks “[they’re] making a step—it’s just a baby-step, but it’s a step” (183). This depicts how although Atticus lost his case, he did make the jury question if they should really convict a black man which to Scout and presumably other residents of Maycomb is a step in the direction towards change in the deep

Anne Frank once said “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it is a bildungsroman novel that follows Jem Finch as he grows up in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Over the course of several summers he, along with his sister Scout , face obstacles and challenges which consist of their mean old neighbor Ms.Dubose and the recluse Boo Radley. Although, in the beginning of the novel, Jem still is a child physically and mentally, and we witness him mature and grow up. We see Jem deal with problems that arise in a more mature manner. Lee shows that even someone as childish as Jem can grow up and learn to

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the children face different situations that result in their loss of innocence and the end of their naivety. Scout learns to stop judging people based on their class and race. Jem realizes that courage comes in many forms and that the actual courageous people are the ones who go through with something they are destined to fail. Dill is forced to deal with disappointment and neglectance due to his parent’s lack of love and time for him. Scout, Jem, and Dill experience events that cause their loss of innocence and lead to their understanding of the corrupt society they live in.

Jeremy “Jem” Finch is a leading protagonist in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” published in 1960. Jem matured greatly throughout the duration of the book, starting to resemble and idolize his father, achieves the status of a guardian to his sister and introduces a whole new set of ideals in his lifestyle. He embodies the themes of growth. Throughout the novel we see how perceptions of things such as courage, respect, tolerance, and cruelty changes Jem as he matures.

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

Jem has changed socially throughout tkam. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird jem has changed by a couple different ways, he has started to understand the racism in maycomb and how it affects everything, he has also learnt not to judge people until you really know them, and jem has become a more mature and responsible person. With jem changing throughout the book the way he looks at the world changes. It also changes the way he acts.

As To Kill a Mockingbird progresses, Jem takes definitive steps toward maturity with his actions in the tire and flower incidents, for example. He would later go on to repair the flowerbed he destroyed, and take greater care to protect Scout. Through his actions, we can see Jem develop a sense of morals and responsibility that would prove to be a lifesaver.

To mature is to grow up and understand the world around oneself. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Jem matures and learns many lessons from his father Atticus, neighbor Mrs Dubose, and the figure of Tom Robinson who help him to grow up. Over time, the reader sees Jem learn the life lessons of always doing the right thing, showing courage in the face of adversity, and learning that life is not always fair.

Scout begins to notice the change in Jem’s personality and feels offended because she doesn't quite understand. On page 153 the text reads, “Over night, it seemed, Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me: several times he went so far as to tell me what to do.” Jem gets older and begins a long path of puberty. This, Scout does not understand yet. Jem moving towards a more adult like personality upsets Scout. Jem’s loss of innocence is a change but also begins to creates a new daily understanding for both Jem and Scout.