I dedicate this to Jem, with thanks, because he provides an important reminder of why finding a cure to the “incurable” diseases are important. His part in To Kill A Mockingbird shows how losing his mother has had a major effect on his life. The effects of this loss are shown to clearly affect Jem when Scout says, “I did not miss her, but I think Jem did. He remembered her clearly, and sometimes in the middle of a game he would sigh at length, then go off and play by himself behind the car-house” (Lee 7). As Jem is older than Scout and being so was 6 years old when his mother died and can remember her clearly. This was a painful age to lose his mother as Jem is old enough to remember her but not old enough for her to have much of an influence …show more content…
Maudie, it isn’t the same as if his mother was alive. This also means that he doesn’t have a variety of opinion and doesn’t receive the same diversity of personality that someone would gain if they had two parents. He also depends so much on his father that one misstep from Atticus could ruin their relationship and make Jem, in a way, fatherless. This is demonstrated as Atticus says, “Sometimes I think I’m a total failure as a parent, but I’m all they’ve got. Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him... if I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn’t meet his eye, and the day I can’t do that I’ll know I’ve lost him. I don’t want to lose him and Scout, because they’re all I’ve got"(Lee 336). Even though Atticus would feel devastated if he lost Jem’s respect it would also be devastating to Jem. He already lost his mother and losing his respect for Atticus would be like losing his father too. I’m sure he would feel lonelier than ever and feel betrayed by Atticus. Everything Atticus taught Jem to become would seem hypocritical because of the one major decision Atticus made that was the opposite of the values Atticus …show more content…
You don’t have to look far to hear about some other family that was broken because of some illness or disease that has killed a family member. However, this may be more common than you think when you look at how “About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that's 1 in every 4 deaths (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).” This leads it to be the highest cause of death in both males and females. In the Finches case, the heart attack was probably caused by a Coronary Heart Disease, which is the most common heart disease, and was passed down through her family by their genes. It is not uncommon for diseases, disorders, and illness to be passed down from family to family and effects almost every generation. In fact, one of the reasons I am dedicating this to the Finches is because how much I can semi-relate to their circumstances. I have had many people that greatly affect my family die because of diseases that were passed down genetically. My uncle died of pancreatic cancer but led a healthy lifestyle and was young enough that he shouldn’t have gotten cancer in the first place. And it seems that cancer runs in the family so the cause could be blood-related, but he could have also just had a weak immune system. My other relatives that died of cancer seemed to have gotten cancer because of their lifestyle choices rather than being genetically
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.
One of the ways Jem changes is by becoming more mature.Jem proves that he is maturing when the kids find Dill under Scout's bed and the first thing Jem says is “let your mother know where you are" and tells Atticus that he was there.This shows that Jem is starting to think like an adult and didn't care about breaking “the remaining code of childhood”. Even though it would mean Scout and Dill getting mad at him he still did it because he knew it was the mature thing to do.This shows that Jem cares more about doing the right, mature thing and less about having Scout and Dill mad at him.
Jem sacrifices his ending childhood, childlike privileges and a close sibling relationship with his sister, Scout.
Jem Finch has come a long way since his humble beginnings as a naive ten year old child. He has come to understand the real meaning of courage, gone from playmate to protector for his sister and has grown enough to understand the workings of the real world, and see the negatives and positives of society. His maturity has been quick and the changes great, and over the years he has come to adhere, respect and carry out Atticus`s legacy and use his father`s ideals to shape his lifestyle. Due to the course of events, his adolescent changes and Atticus`s influence, Jem has matured from a reckless child into a young man capable of making his own decisions.
2. What was the significance of having Jem die? Does this reflect on anything else in the book?
These three deaths each had a their own individual effect on Jem, but Jem definitely gained an accomplished knowledge of death. Thus, Jem is a child at the beginning of To Kill A Mockingbird but does mature, gaining a sense of the society surrounding him and a knowledge, or a mature awareness, of death. Jem doesn't gain these mental developements easily but through much struggling, and this is exactly what To Kill A Mockingbird is all about; a struggle with society and learning by placing one's self in another's shoes.
Atticus is a great leader of his family, teaching his children morals and life lessons. He makes them better people by showing them how to deal with the trial and people making fun of them. Atticus teaches Scout how to respect other people. First, Scout learns to respect Atticus, then to respect "Boo" Radley, and finally to respect a whole race of people, negroes. He makes it a common practice to live his life as he would like his children to live theirs, and thus displays the attributes of an honest, respectable, and kind man. Throughout the trial process, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in and that all human beings, despite their race, deserve respect. "You never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This quote shows that Atticus wants his children to get along with people, and so other people will respect them for whom they are.
Jem’s maturity throughout the novel affects his behavior by causing him to react more negatively towards any type of disturbance. This affects Scout and
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.
Atticus Finch as a parent teaches Scout and Jem moral values and tries his hardest to pass on to his children his way of thinking. Atticus worries that his children sees to much racism and injustice, and tries to show his children that all people are equal no matter the color of their skin. He teaches them to go against the norm in Maycomb which is prejudice and unjust in their actions.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of coming-of-age and the loss of innocence through the character Jem. Through recurring events, Jem is faced with the realization of society’s injustice, and is left questioning the world he lives in. During a time of rampant racial discrimination and prejudice in the south, Jem transforms from naivety to maturity.
Jem and Scout have a lot of reasons to look up to Atticus as a role
The morals for Scout and Jem to live by come from their father, Atticus Finch. He has experienced evils in his life, like the death of his wife, but he never lost faith in the good of people. He taught Scout and Jem right from wrong when they were young, because their mother was no longer around to teach them. Atticus understands that people have good and bad inside of them, but he feels that the good side can always overcome the bad side. This is true when he backed Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Even though no one else helped Atticus out, he never gave up on Tom Robinson no matter how hard things got.
Since Jem is a couple years older than Scout, he understands most things better than she does just because he’s been exposed to the world a little more than Scout has. During the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, these two young kids start viewing everything slightly different in their small county called Maycomb, such as how they view their father, racism, Boo Radley, and the people in the place they live. When Scout and Jem heard about the case their father had taken, they didn’t know what to think, but after they knew what really happened, they did not like the way their county was treating the black man, Tom Robinson.
In the beginning section of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the relationship of Atticus and Jem is simple. Jem sees Atticus as older and less active then the fathers of his friends at school. For example, Scout states, "Jem was football crazy. Atticus was never too tired to play keep-away, but when Jem wanted to tackle him Atticus would say, `I'm too old for that, son (89).'" As the story line began to progress, Jem started to admire his father. After the episode with the mad dog, Jem had said, " ` `d you see him, Scout? `d you see him just standin' there?...'n' all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an' it looked like that gun was a part of him...an' he did it so quick, like...I hafta aim for ten minutes `fore I can hit somethin'...(97).'" Jem no longer felt that his father was useless.