The verdict of the trial forces Jem to think about how justice in the society of Maycomb is linked to social inequalities. When the children leave the courthouse after the trial, Scout reflects on Jem’s reaction to the outcome of the trial. Scout narrates, “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, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting” (212). The author specifically uses the words “streaked with tears” to show how devastated Jem is about the verdict of the trial. He doesn’t understand why Tom is convicted even though he is innocent which shows that Jem is exposed for the first time to the injustice of the society …show more content…
He realizes that he was hidden from the real world in other words, he was innocent. Jem opines, “It's like bein' a caterpillar in a cocoon, that's what it is," he said. "Like somethin' asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they seemed like” (215). After the trial, Jem uses the sentences “caterpillar in a cocoon” as well as “somethin’ asleep wrapped up in a warm place”, to show that they were kept safe in a cocoon where nothing could happen to them, where they are not even exposed to the real world. This shows maturity as well as his loss of innocence since he realizes for himself that he and Scout were innocent. In addition the author writes, “Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like” to illustrate that everything he knew about the world was proven to be wrong. Jem realizes that the folks he was surrounded with weren’t as nice and ‘good’ as he thought they were. Jem thought that Tom Robinson was going to win the trial, however Scout knew Tom was going to be convicted the second the jury came back in the courtroom with their
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.
Part of growing up is the situation you are put into, but even with a similar childhood characters tend to vary. This is prevalent in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in which the small town of Maycomb Alabama is home to the adolescents Scout and Jem. They are in the process of becoming two morally candid people. They are exposed to real world features like bias and social class. They learn and develop throughout the book and many events shift how they think, for example the trial of Tom Robinson. Brother and sister, Jem and Scout are very alike but at the same time particularly divergent.
When you think of an older sibling, they tend to come across as bossy, mean, and overprotective, but they really have good intentions. Jem, a character in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is the brother of the main character Scout, and the son of Atticus Finch. Throughout the book, he plays a major role in the novel and is a very important aspect to the theme. Jem shows his imagination, bravery, and his love for his sister.
It was clear based on the evidence that Tom was innocent, but with the jury consisting of only white men in 1930's Alabama, they decided to convict Tom only because it was a white man's word against a black man's. This upsetted Jem and Scout as they were sure that Tom and Atticus would win the case. It made them realize that people with prejudice will make unfair decisions, even when it's clear that they are making the wrong decision: "...but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed." (Lee 323). Seeing this changes Jem and Scout's perception of the people living in Maycomb, as they start to question whether the people of Maycomb were as good-hearted as they thought. Nowadays, there would not be racial prejudice in a courtroom, however the jury that was biased during Tom's trial could be the modern equivalents of people who use racial profiling, racial bias, and stereotyping. The kids and the reader learn that people who make judgements and decisions based on prejudice are people who should not be considered
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird portrayed an era of extreme prejudice and ignorance. Throughout the novel, these specific characteristics were noticed in the behavior of Maycomb’s residents, especially during the trial of Tom Robinson – a highly publicized court case involving a black man convicted of raping a white girl from a despicable family. Although it became obvious throughout the trial that Robinson was innocent, and the girl’s father was the real culprit, Tom Robinson was convicted mainly due to social prejudice toward his race. The unjust result of this trial deeply disturbed the main characters of the novel: Scout and Jem, the children of the defense attorney of the trial, Atticus Finch. Since the story took place in the 1930s, racism was still widely accepted in society, and most of the residents in Maycomb openly professed their derogatory views on people of a different race or social standard. Growing up in a family that believed in egalitarianism, Scout and Jem faced backlash from the community since their father was fighting for a black man in the Tom Robinson trial. Amid these two highly conflicting environments, Scout and Jem had many unanswered questions and no support in the community during these tough times. Additionally, the Maycomb community was plagued with injustice due to discrimination and racism. However, there was one character in the novel who remained open-minded and unprejudiced even in the face of tradition and communal ignorance. A close neighbor of the Finch’s, who shared the same moral views as Atticus, Miss Maudie served as a mother figure to young Scout and Jem, who were going through a tough time in the community. Although Miss Maudie may not have had enough power to change the prejudice...
verdict of the trial, Jem and Scout see the hate in jurors for blacks, for it is obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent. Another new and disturbing element that Jem and Scout discover is child abuse. Having never been hit by Atticus, the children know nothing of physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse. However, Mayella Ewell knows too well of these abuses and is a victim of them from her own father. Bob Ewell shows he has no consideration for her by his actions or words, and this is clearly displayed during the trial when he is being asked on the stand, "Are you the father of Mayella Ewell?" (172) His crude reply is, "Well, if I ain’t I can’t do nothing about it now"(172). This shows he has no class or respect, while on the other hand, Jem and Scout are used to seeing the example of their tactful father. Also, during the trial it becomes lucid that Bob Ewell beat Mayella up and not Tom Robinson.
Scout reveals this by not being infected with what Atticus calls “Maycomb’s usual disease.” Notably her naïve and innocent aspect toward the word benefits her to not fall victim to racism, which displays a human truth that we are not born prejudice. Scout initially has little comprehension of the prejudice effecting the population of Maycomb. Regarding this while “[Scout] has felt [Calpurnia’s] tyrannical presence as long as [she] can remember,” Maycomb would perceive this as an abnormality to be as closely associated as Scout is with Calpurnia; an African American. By not fathoming the magnitude of prejudice leaves Scout ignorant to the world around her. However, as the novel progresses, Scout begins to notice the lack of empathy that Maycomb inhabits. Scout attends Tom Robinson’s trial which ended with him being convicted guilty for simply being Negro, whose declaration of his innocence was being held against a white women’s version of the events. Consequently Scout learns that they do not share the same aspect of equality and empathy she values, as well as witnessing the lack of empathy the town holds, making her become mature. Throughout the novel, it is shown what the cost is to mature, and if we need to change our mindset to do
The reader acknowledges Jem Finch as Scout’s older brother from the start of this novel. He is brave and strong. “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.” The reader understands Jem to be the older and wiser one of the two siblings, but also understands Jem to be brave and not confused by life. The reader expects him to understand the ways of life. When the trial took place, Jem is awakened by the fact Tom Robinson was persecuted only because he was black. Jem does not understand this even though he thought he was old enough to understand. The reader starts to realize Jem does not have life figured out and he is still a kid. Jem shows his bravery throughout the book with Cecil, Burris Ewell, Bob Ewell and even Mrs. Dubose. Jem matures throughout the book as well. The reader notices this while he is comforting Scout and when he is comforting to ...
Jem is old enough now to understand what he sees going on around him in Maycomb. Mr. Nathan Radley plugs a hole in Jem and Scout’s tree and explains to them that you do that when a tree is dying, but Atticus tells them that the tree isn’t dead. When Jem hears this, he starts crying. Scout narrates, “He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him” (84). His tears symbolize a certain loss of innocence when he realizes that Mr. Radley plugged up that hole to keep them from communicating with Boo. Tears are water, and water is pure. Pure is also a word used to describe a child’s innocence. Scout describes that she, “saw he (Jem) had been crying” and justified it with, his face
Jem displays values like compassion and tolerance by believing that all men are created equal no matter which race, religion, or attitude they have. He shows this when he hears the verdict of Tom Robinson's trial. '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, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus'; (212). This is the first time he realizes that there was injustice in the world. He slowly matures and begins to understand that there are such thing as prejudice and racism.
Jem’s view towards his father also changes when he risks being shot by Mr. Radley when he returns to collect his pants so that he can avoid the dishonor of having Atticus be disappointed in him. Towards the end of the novel, when Jem hears verdict of the Tom Robinson trial, the darkness of reality destroys whats left of his optimistic innocence. It dispels everything that he had previously held to be true, and Jem is unable to comprehend why people would harbor prejudices.
However during the trial, the Reverend Sykes expressed concern that Scout’s innocence needs to be preserved watching and Jem replies. “Aw hush. She doesn’t understand it, Reverend, she ain’t nine yet” (197). This evidence shows that before the trial, Scout was at least partially innocent, and Jem knows that. Harper Lee uses Jem and Scout's involvement with the trial to demonstrate how they lose their innocence. Jem and Scout lose some of their innocence when they are involved in the lynch mob. Scout says the following quote when she, Jem and Dill stumble upon the lynch mob that is trying to lynch Atticus and Tom because they are racist. “Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment gettin’ along… Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch” (174). In a massively racist day and age, Jem and Scout are exposed to racism in the most obvious way: through a lynch mob targeting their father. This quote shows how Scout is still innocent as she comes into the situation. Scout narrates this next quote when she springs into the middle of a lynch mob and realizes how stupid she was. “There a smell of stale whiskey and pigpen about, and when I glanced around I discovered that these men were strangers” (172). This evidence shows that Scout was innocent and didn't know that the group was a lynch mob. Bob Ewell’s death had a very large impact on Jem and Scout's innocence. The sheriff, Mr. Heck Tate says the following quote after he finds Bob Ewell dead under a tree, in the woods after he attempts to kill Jem and Scout. Bob Ewell’s lyin’ on the ground under that tree down yonder...He’s dead Mr. Finch” (p305). This quote is the moment the children are first really confronted with death. This causes them to lose their innocence because they realize that people want to kill each other sometimes and thats messed up. Scout says this when she contemplates about what happened to Bob Ewell. “I could think of nothing but Mr. Bob
When children grow up, they face difficult problems, and. they learn to cope and take responsibility. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a flashback about two kids that spans over a few years. Jem ages from ten to thirteen over the course of the novel, and undergoes much change, as his sister describes him. Over the years, he is exposed to issues adults face, and eventually shows an understanding of racism and innocence. As Jem grows up, his view on courage also changes. Jem follows his father's footsteps, and gets much of his knowledge from him.
Although Tom Robinson is innocent, the Judge finds him guilty because Tom Robinson told the jury that “I felt sorry for her”(Lee 197). This symbolizes the judgement in social class because Tom knew he made a great mistake saying, to the town of Maycomb, that he felt sorry for a white female. This was a turning point during the trial because in Maycomb, people in a higher class viewed other lower classes as not important and no respect to them. Their judgment towards the lower classes based on their skin color or what they are wearing is how people in Maycomb divide themselves from one another. In addition, another judgmental aspect in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism. Someone who shows racism is called a racist, which is a major factor in the novel. On Jem’s birthday, Scout and Jem are
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...