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Social differences in to kill a mockingbird
Social differences in to kill a mockingbird
Social differences in to kill a mockingbird
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To Kill a Mockingbird - Moral Growth of Jem Essay In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jean Louise Finch (Scout) and Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) are sister and brother. Over the course of three years, they grow up together--from trying to discover their hidden neighbor Arthur “Boo” Radley to a trial involving a black man accused of rape. The two of them both experience moral growth through their escapades. The focus here will be on Jem and how he has developed morally, based upon the model on the stages of moral development Lawrence Kohlberg . He has progressed linearly from before stage 1 (following authority to avoid punishment) to Stage 6 (living by a personal conscience and following universal principles of justice and …show more content…
One example involves Tim Johnson being mad and Atticus having to shoot the dog. Before the incident started, “When Jem and I [Scout] asked him [Atticus] why he was so old, he said he got started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and manliness. He was much older than the parents of our school contemporaries, and there was nothing Jem or I could say about him when our classmates said, ‘My father—’” (p. 118) At this point, Jem has some jaundice about the apparent inability of Atticus to play tackle football, hold a physical occupation, see much with his left eye, or hunt. However, by the end of the chapter, Jem is not so disgruntled with his father. “‘Atticus is real old, but I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do anything—I wouldn’t care if he couldn’t do a blessed thing.’” (p. 131) Jem has realized that is wrong to be dissatisfied with Atticus just because of physical limitations. Rather, he knows it is right to appreciate his the mental capabilities of his father, such as being a gentleman. He is not specifically following Stage 4 yet, but he is definitely in Stage 3 now: he is being appreciative of his father in the right ways, which is something Atticus would definitely approve …show more content…
After one altercation when Jem hollered, “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’ . . .” (p. 153) Here, Jem has learned of the standard social order. He is in Stage 4 at this point: he is now going to “avoid challenging the social order” by encouraging it. The main problem here is that he is encouraging Scout to follow the social order, despite her desires not to. Jem believes that she should behave like a lady, which she should and will, but this is not being considerate towards his sister. The dilemma here is that it is right for Jem to want to follow the social order, but it is wrong for him to make others follow societal
During our lives, we develop morals and values through life experiences. They can be influenced by our society and the people we surround ourselves with. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates courage, social inequality and prejudice through the characters and events in the book. We experience life lessons through the protagonist Scout Finch as she develops her own values. This is displayed through a variety of life lessons and values throughout the novel.
...heme of maturation in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is conveyed through the characters of Scout and Jem, in conjunction with the assistance of their virtuous father Atticus Finch. Early in the novel, Atticus ascertains himself as a major facilitator in the maturation process of Scout and Jem by incessantly providing mature solutions to his children’s predicaments. Moreover, Scout, a major benefactor of the Boo Radley incident and Atticus’ wisdom, has helped her develop into a very tolerant and mature individual. Undeniably, Jem’s remarkable development into a broadminded and compassionate character can be directly attributed to Atticus’ kindness and Jem’s exposure to the Tom Robinson trial. In synopsis, it is evident that the individuals and social circumstances that surround an individual play a major role in defining the type of individual one will become.
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.
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.
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses character development to coin social commentary at times concerning bravery. Bravery is a primary topic within the novel., as it is an expressed trait in main characters such as Atticus, Scout and Jem. Whether it may be brave enough to defend a colored man on an all white jury, or enough to wander onto Boo Radley’s property, bravery is the pinnacle to the novel. Also bravery of the characters is accounted into character development, in which each main character has their flash with bravery, and perseveres through times of social commentary within the town of Maycomb Alabama. However, what is an example of one character developing throughout the novel to provide the character 's own commentary during times of bravery?
Jeremy Atticus Finch (aka Jem) from To Kill a Mockingbird is viewed as a “regular” kid who is immature and innocent to the “real world”. Since Jem is still young, he has not gone out on his own in the world and had to fend for himself. He has not seen the “real world,” therefore Jem does not understand that life is not always fair. This view of the world is clouded by his innocents. Jem, although going through the death of his mother, does not completely understand how life can be. Jem’s eyes finally start to open up to the true, harsh world after witnessing the verdict of “guilty” in the Tom Robinson court case. In seeing this injustice, Jem begins to mature more, his innocents starts slipping away, revealing how to world is.
When people grow up they understand more of what the world is like, lose innocence, and become responsible for themselves. Most people go through life feeling like everything is getting harder as they grow up. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a character who demonstrates those feelings of turning mature, that character is Jeremy “Jem” Finch, the brother of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Jem becomes moody and more morose as the novel progresses, this is due to him learning about how life can be unfair as he learns about prejudice and racism during the novel. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is demonstrated by Jem’s development that shows when individuals mature, they gain knowledge, but lose happiness in life.
In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, most of the younger characters show growth throughout the book and Scout Finch showed the most growth in becoming mature. If it weren’t for her family, acquaintances, and people she saw regularly every day, her personality and growth would have been extremely different. The people that lived in the town of Maycomb had the biggest impact on how Scout grew up and became the person she was.
In ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ written by Harper Lee, there is a precise sense of maturity that is shown by Jem and Finch Scout as the novel progresses. Jem and Scout Finch start to mature considerably throughout the novel once they realize what horrid things adults are capable of, get their moral strengths tested and become familiar with distinguishing right from wrong. Shaping them into the young adults they are. Growing up can mean taking on many tasks and responsibilities, being able to distinguish right from wrong, just like Scout had done on her first day of grade one when she was asked to read in front of the class but came across as showing off. “I knew I had annoyed Miss Caroline, so I let well enough alone and stared out the window until recess when Jem cut me from the covey of first-graders in the schoolyard.
By the end of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem is transformed from a naive, playful child into an aware, mature young adult. The trial changes his worldview; suddenly the people around him are not all righteous and good, and he grows through this. In recurring events, Jem comes of age through social realizations, and emerges into
“Learn to deal with the fact that not everyone is perfect, but everyone deserves respect, honesty, justice and equality, I’m for truth no matter who tells it, I’m for justice no matter who it is for or against” (anonymous)
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.
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.
Another example of Jem’s maturity is exemplified when he is fulfilling his
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a remarkable novel following the childhood of Jem and Scout, the son and daughter of Atticus Finch. Living in a small and drama filled town of Maycomb County they encounter a great deal of people who do not stand by their word. Hypocrisy occurs throughout this novel first by a man named Dolphus Raymond, then by two women Mrs. Merriweather and Miss Gates.