When you were a child have you ever done something that didn’t seem right or strange to your adult figure? This is what Scout and Jem had to go through in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The novel begins in the small town of Maycomb where Scout and Jem live with Atticus, their father and Calpurnia a maid that looks after Jem and Scout because their mother died. Jem and Scout have seen racism and prejudice in their town before but, not as much until the Tom Robinson trial that had Atticus protecting him. Even though Atticus loses the case a man by the name of Bob Ewell, still wants revenge, he decides to attack Jem and Scout, he is killed by a man called Boo Radley that protects Jem and Scout. When coming of age one realizes more of their world around them. When Scout was about to kill a Roly- Poly that she had found on the floor, Jem stopped her right before she could squash the Roly-Poly. When Scout asked Jem,” Why couldn’t I mash him” (pg.320), Jem responded with, “ Because they don’t bother you” (pg.320). Jem sees that killing that roly-poly would be wrong because they don’t bother anyone. Jem sees this because of his age while scout sees nothing wrong with killing the roly-poly. Since Jem is older than Scout it is reasonable for Jem to see this and not Scout. Figueroa,2 …show more content…
. . it’s because he wants to stay inside.” ( pg.304). Jem realizes the reason that Boo Radley stays inside is that he wants to avoid the dark and cruel world they live in. Jem realizes this because he has come to the age where he knows how the world works for that time which was the 1930’s. Scout doesn’t realize this because she thinks everyone is equal this is shown when Scout says,” Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”
It is very common among people to misjudge others prematurely, which are changed once the individual being judged is gotten to know better. Once, Walt Whitman said, “Be curious, not judgmental”. This can be a lesson to a vast number of persons, not excluding Jem and Scout. They are two of the most important characters from the most fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which takes place in the Great depression, in Maycomb, Alabama. Two of the most misunderstood characters in the whole book are Dolphus Raymond, the town drunkard, and Atticus Finch the town lawyer as well as Jem and Scouts “boring” father. Jem and Scout both misjudge Dolphus Raymond and their own father, Atticus, fate decides to oppose them with two events the trial of Tom Robinson, and the disposition of Tim Johnson, and they are forced to change their absurd opinions.
Everyone goes through different changes as they grow up. Maturing, coming of age, and doing the right thing are important themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This theme is most often seen in the character Jeremy “Jem” Finch. He portrays this theme when he begins to enter puberty and becomes a young man. Jeremy starts to become more independent, wiser and more able to comprehend adult situations; Jem begins to get a better grasp on things. Other characters that demonstrate this theme are Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee shows how Scout comes of age in similar ways to Jem. Scout begins to grow up and become more tolerant of others by “putting herself in another person’s skin”. Boo displays his “coming of age” in a somewhat different way than Jem and Scout. There’s a scene in To Kill A Mockingbird where Boo has the chance to do the right thing by putting himself in harm’s way in order to save lives, and he takes the chance. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that is overflowing with the theme “coming of age” (whether it is shown through the main character or others). This theme is important to the story because these characters are a small example of the changes that Maycomb needs to undergo. Jeremy Finch is the character in which this theme is most represented in.
In the beginning of the story, Jem enjoys the childish games of fantasizing about Boo Radley, taking any dare, and . Scout tells the reader that Jem becomes more and more moody as the story progresses, due to his aging. He thinks more; he shows more compassion; and he is appalled by the unfairness that rears its ugly head in his hometown. While Scout recounts the events of her childhood, the reader fails to notice that “To Kill a Mockingbird” is not a story about the narrator (Scout) maturing, it is actually about Jem maturing, and becoming an adult.
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
The people who lack empathy for the Radley’s are the kids such as Scout, Jem, and Dill. On page 16, Jem describes Boo Radley as a monster with yellow and rotten teeth, eyes that popped, drooling, blood stained hands, and having a long jagged scar across his face. They also dare each other to get as close as possible and make mean plays about the Radley family. When Miss Muadie’s house burns down Boo gives Scout a blanket and she sees that he is not a monster. Later when Atticus is defending Tom Robbinson the town seems to turn their backs on Atticus and his family, becuase he is defending a black man which is looked down upon in the town. Tom Robbinson is innocent, but because he is a black man the town views him as guilty anyway. When the town comes to a conclusion that he is guilty, Jem comes to the conclusion that the outside world is unfair, because he knows Tom Robinson is innocent. This is a good coming of age moment for Jem, because he develops empathy for Tom Robbinson and changes his mindset. Scout throughout the story is forced to develop empathy towards other people by her farther, Calpurnia, and Jem. In chapter 3, when she is beating up Walter Cunningham, she is forced to stop by her older brother Jem, who later invites him to dinner. Then later in the house, Scout was being rude to Walter for the way he ate. Calpurnia scolds Scout by
The key coming of age scene “ TO KILL A MOKING BIRD’’ is where Jem and the two others were up above in the jury watching their father ( Atticus ) try and win a case were an African American person is trying to be blamed guilty for doing something he did not do. This scene has the following literary elements, p.o.v , or point of view, coming of age and also characteristic and respect.
Even though Jem is growing up and maturing he has some naive view of the community he live in. We see that in trial of Tom Robinson. Jem is convinced that the jury is going to rule in favor of Tom. But as we know Tom is convicted. This surprises Jem. He doesn‘t understand and can‘t accept it. However everybody else know that the ruling is never going to be in Toms favor. He sees the world only as black and white although he is learning that it is not that simple. Through the story Jem learns about the injustice, racism and discrimination in his
This especially comes in to play after Tom Robinson’s trial is over, and he is tried guilty. Jem learns that Tom never had a chance and would have never been tried fairly, just because he was black. As the judge was saying guilty, Scout, “Peeked 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). The quote shows how much he cares that an innocent man is being cheated out of his life. After the trial, Jem became gloomy because he knew in his heart that Tom would have to die because he was unfairly tried. This shows coming of age because Jem never had thoughts about how the black community were poorly treated before. So now he is growing up and thinking for himself, instead of just listening to the racists in Maycomb. Jem later forms his ideas about the Ewell family and how they are trash people from his father when he explains that if a white man cheats a black man, the white man is trash. Jem also has the mindset of an adult when he tells Scout, “It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!” (Lee 153). This quote explains that Jem learns what is expected from them. He thinks like the other adults that want Scout to act more like a girl. All of these examples show Jem has a real coming of age story throughout the
Scout is the narrator of the whole book. She is the young daughter of a lawyer, Atticus. They live in Maycomb County with Scout's brother and Aunt in the 1930's. At the beginning of the book, she doesn’t know much about the prejudice of Southern America. She basically knows nothing about prejudice. She thinks every person is the same as her. But she finds that out at last. She also finally finds out that most people are nice. She just has to put herself in those people's situations. "As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly algebra" (Lee pg. #). This statement shows that she understands the prejudice and people's thinking, at last. That makes her life a lot different.
Boo Radley is thought to be a malevolent, soulless, deceitful person, but he proves to be a caring, good-natured person. In Chapter 1, Jem offers his perception of Boo Radley to Scout and Dill: " ‘Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time’ " (16). Jem perceives Boo Radley as being a “monster” instead of being a man. Jem comes to this conclusion despite having never even seen Boo Radley in person. Jem’s understanding of Boo Radley is based on the rumors that he has heard about him. In Chapter 8, after the fire at Miss Maudie’s house, Scout notices that she was wrapped in a blanket that she did not have with she left the house. Scout asks Atticus who was the person that put the blanket around her. Atticus tells Scout, "Boo Radley. You were so busy watching the fire you didn't know it when he...
Jem is growing up all the time. This can be seen when he stops Scout
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilizes the significant symbol of a mockingbird to convey the coming of age theme of knowing someone’s background before forming opinions. When Scout and Jem get airsoft guns for Christmas, Atticus knows they will go “after birds,” so he allows them to “shoot all the bluejays” as long as they do not “kill a mockingbird” because it is “a sin” (Lee 119). Through close analysis, the advice Atticus presents has a much deeper meaning to it than originally perceived. The “mockingbird” is a symbol for all of the innocent people that are portrayed unjustly and the “bluejays” represent the malevolent individuals. Also, Lee’s decision to use the word “sin” suggests that killing a mockingbird is absolutely iniquitous,
This passage of the story displays coming of age as an internal force through Jem’s character, conflict, and setting. This event led Jem to see situations in a different perspective. He learns that people might come out as rude. But, as hard as it is he must remain respectful, because he would not know what kind of battles they must be facing. He uses this coming of age experience as a life lesson more throughout the
Growing up in Maycomb In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three main themes: Growing up in Maycomb, Racism, and Courage. In chapter one through ten, it talks about Jem and Scout spending every summer with Dill, it also talks about how Jem grew closer to Dill and started to leave Scout out of their activities. On page six of the novel , Growing up in Maycomb they believe that there was ”Nothing to fear but fear itself’. Maycomb was a town where you could sit on your porch with peace, and everyday door was open on Sunday Maycomb seemed to be hotter back then, people also moved slower then. Scout and Jem seemed to love growing up in Maycomb ( they had their down times) they seemed to have a decent life especially with a father like Atticus . Atticus was a straight forward man who did everything for his family. Atticus was a lawyer for the town ; for the most part loved him. He believes that everyone deserves and a fair chance , somehow he mad growing up in this small town easy for the kids. Calpurnia, the cook, also made growing up easy for the kids. Cal is a Negro woman that came to the house every day to cook and clean for the family .She plays a mother role in the novel. Jem and Scout’s
After Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout reveals Jem’s feelings. “It was Jem’s turn to cry.” Scout uncovers, “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd,” (TKAM 284). Jem understands the trial is not fair because of race. He is mature enough to realize this while Scout is not.