“There is an amazing power getting to know your inner self and learning how to use it and not fight with the world. If you know what makes you happy, your personality, interests and capabilities, just use them, and everything else flows beautifully.” The Indian actress, Juhi Chawla is describing how everyone builds inner self through a process of twists and turns in the road of life. One of those people in particular is Jeremy Atticus Finch. In chapter 11 Jem and Scout decided to treat themselves with some toys from a local store when they were rudely interrupted by their gaustly old neighbor Mrs. Dubose. After weeks and weeks of nagging and brutally beating their father down for his case with a negro, Jem finally cracked. He burst through her gate and went straight into her yard at a dead sprint and picked the heads off of each beautiful white camellia in her yard. Once Atticus found out he made Jem pay for what he did with a service of reading to the crippled women every day for a …show more content…
“She was horrible. Her face was the color of the dirty Pillowcase, and the corners of her mouth glisson's with what, which inched like a glacier down the Deep Groves and closing in her chin. Old age liver spots. It her cheeks, and her pale eyes have black pinpoint pupils. Her hands were Navi, in the cuticles were grown up over her fingernails. Her bottom plate was not in, and her upper lip protrude; from time to time she would draw her neither lip to her upper plate and carry her chin with it. This made the wet move faster.” pg 142. By using imagery it allowed the readers to believe she was a wretched person as Jem thought she was at first glance. By reading to her he realized she needed a distraction from her pain and that is all she asked for. Jem looked at the cover of the book and it took him awhile to open it and thoroughly read the
Jem and Scouts’ father, Atticus, is very misjudged by their children. They believe that Atticus is a very semantic man that goes to work, comes back, and has no skill whatsoever in sports. Scout criticizes Atticus by saying “Atticus did not… or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone”(118). This demonstrates that Jem and Scout are not satisfied with Atticus’s physical and amusing skills. They thought of him as an old man in his fifties that had no energy left, and had a routine of going to bed and reading in the living room instead of running around. Later, they visit there across the street neighbor, Mrs. Maudie to talk about how boring their Dad is, when Mrs. Maudie says” ‘Well, he can make everybody’s will so airtight can’t anybody meddle with him’… ‘Well, did you know he is the best checker-player in this town? Why down at the Landing when we were coming up, Atticus Finch could beat everybody on both sides of the river”(120). This establishes that they find out that their Dad isn’t so useless anymore. Even though the children find out all these activities he is excellent at, sometimes even the best, they are still not overly impressed. After Calpurnia calls the cops on the dog, Tim Johnson, The sheriff and Atticus arrive at the scene “ ‘Take him, Mr. Finch’. Mr. Tate handed the rifle to Attics; Jem and I nearly fainted…’’d you see him, Scout? ’d you see him just standing there?...’n’ all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an’ it looked like that gun was a part of him’”(126-129).
In chapter 15 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the children will do anything to protect Atticus from getting hurt. Lee uses imagery and shift to show that the children are protective of Atticus.
...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.
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.
In a town of such undeserved glory, Atticus Finch is the one character who is worthy of glorification. Yet, his humility further illustrates Atticus as a man of pure stability. Surrounded by the self-righteousness of others, he is able to remain emotionally grounded. Atticus Finch is a highly accomplished man of great intelligence, but even greater meekness. For example, during one of their chats with Miss Maudie, Scout learns that her father’s childhood nickname was “Ol Shot” (Lee page #), which referred to his unbelievable marksmanship. When Scout becomes excited about telling all of her friends about her father and his incredible talent, Jem says, “I'd reckon if he wanted us to know he’d a told us. If he was proud of it he’d a told us… but Atticus is a gentleman…and people in their right minds never take pride in their talents” (Lee 98).
Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict, was cruel to Jem and Scout. She often criticized the way Atticus raised them, telling them how much better their mother would have done. She would yell at them, saying cruel things about their family. Jem openly destroys her flowerbeds ; forgetting everything Atticus taught him about maturity and not letting what people ...
On several occasions, Scout gets into a fight with people who make unpleasant comments about her father. Atticus continuously tells her that this is wrong and that she needs to learn to control her anger, “You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). The day after this discussion with Atticus, Scout is approached by a fellow student who had previously made a mean comment about her father. “I drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then dropped my fists and walked away...it was the first time I ever walked away from a fight” (Lee 102). Although she struggles at first, Scout develops a higher level of maturity which allows her to control her temper and simply defend her father with her words, without being rude. Jem is also faced with these type of situations and struggles with his anger, for instance when he attacks Mrs. Dubose’s flowers. Atticus goes to great lengths to teach his children that in life, they must learn to stay calm and be kind to everyone, despite how cruel those people may be. Scout and Jem face several situations in which their control is tested, which leads them to “come of age”
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.
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.
Besides the main and infamous symbols of the novel such as the Mockingbird, symbolism is shown through other parts of the narrative. For example, the snowman that Jem and Scout build has various symbolic meanings. Because of the lack of snow available to them, they must build the foundation of the snowman with mud, and then they cover it with white snow in order to make it actually look like a snowman. They see the resemblance between their creation and their neighbour. ’Mr. Avery’s sort of shaped like a snowman, ain’t he?’. Mr Avery is a cruel character to the children. The snowman can be seen as symbolic of people, like Mr Avery, who have white skin, but inside, their heart is black. The burning of the snowman foreshadows how Atticus ‘destroyed his (Mr Ewell’s) last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with’, and how his true intentions were revealed. Another symbolism of the snowman is that it is made of black mud and white snow, they complete each other to make a full snowman. It symbolises how black and white people should coexist and work together harmoniously. Jem questions the racial prejudice, saying ‘If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?’ In addition, the snowman can be seen as symbolic of the foundations of a white society being based on
For example, Harper Lee uses imagery to develop the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes. For example, on page 372, while Boo Radley and Scout are walking back to Boo’s house Scout thinks to himself that, “if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would.” In this quote, Harper Lee uses imagery to show Boo Radley walking Scout down
Jem Finch demonstrates growing maturity throughout the novel. 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. Another example of Jem’s maturity is exemplified when he is fulfilling his obligation to read to Mrs. Dubose. Scout describes, “ ‘So you brought that dirty little sister of yours did you?’ was her greeting… ‘My sister ain’t dirty and I ain’t scared of you’, although I noticed his knees shaking,” (TKAM 141). Rather than Jem replying to Mrs. Dubose with an insult, he dismisses her comment. Furthermore, this showcases his patience and tolerance, which comes with maturity. Finally, Jem validates his maturity when the Finch children find Dill under Scout’s bed. “You oughta let your mother know where you are.” announced Jem, “You oughta let her know you are here…”(TKAM 187). At this point Jem knows the right way to handle this situation is to let an adult know where Dill is. Even though Scout believes she can keep him under her bed forever, Jem recognizes the reality. When Jem’s maturity is put to the test he demonstrates good judgment and decision-making.
Lee uses the camellia flower that Mrs. Dubose gives to Jem to symbolizes bravery, empathy, forgiveness, and Jem’s maturity. It symbolizes strength because Mrs. Dubose did not have to go through all of the pain that she did, she could have kept on using morphine to get through the pain. Similarly, the camellia represents empathy because Jem did not understand why Mrs. Dubose was so rude until he understood what she was going through. As Atticus said at the beginning of the book: “You never really understand a person until you understand things from his point of view…”(39). Furthermore, it shows forgiveness because Jem forgave Mrs. Dubose for all that she had said about Atticus. It also symbolizes Jem’s coming of age because it is teaching him lessons of life. Atticus wanted to show Jem what he thought was a different type of courage: “I want you to see what real courage is…” (149). Atticus is teaching Jem these lessons using Mrs. Dubose to help him mature and understand the way the world works, as he is getting older.
Learning to do the right thing, does not come easy for children. This especially is difficult to show your friends and siblings, what to do and not to do. This lesson does not come easy for Jem, but he learns how to have courage in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Jem transforms from a very childish young kid to a very mature young adult due to learning the lesson of real courage.