Blizzard Bag #1

Blizzard Bag #1

1. What changes have you seen in Jem and Scout so far? Are they static or dynamic characters? Explain one change in each character, using support from the text. Each response should be a paragraph and be sure to use TEXT EVIDENCE with PARENTHETICAL CITATION. Your response must be a minimum of 300 words.

Jem is a dynamic character, as shown by his changing perspective on courage during the book. In chapter one, Dill dares Jem to pass through the gate facing the Radley house: “The next day Dill said, ‘You’re too scared even to put your big toe in the front yard.’ Jem said he reckoned he wasn’t he’d passed the Radley Place every school day of his life” (16). Later, he “courageously” takes up this dare: “Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful” (18). At this point, courage is as trivial as touching the Radley house; courage is taking risks and being fearless in Jem’s eyes. However, Jem’s attitude toward courage changes, as shown by the events after Mrs. Dubose’s death. Atticus explains to his son the true meaning of courage: “‘ […] I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what […]’” (149). In this way, Jem realizes that Atticus’s defense for Tom Robinson is courageous. Now he has more respect for his father and his father’s work. Evidently, Jem’s definition of courage has changed throughout the book, and thus he has changed internally as well.
Likewise, Scout has changed throughout the story. She learns...

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...to the town […]’” (117). If Jem understands this idea, then it is clear why he can take negative remarks from his classmates.
On the other hand, Mrs. Dubose was an adult and was fully knowledgeable of the details of the Tom Robinson case. Moreover, she should have known by then how to be civilized, polite, and respectful; she should have been, as Aunt Alexandra would say, “ladylike”. Jem caught the discrepancy between this and Mrs. Dubose’s insults, however, and he was angered, as shown by his response to Atticus when they talked about the woman: “‘A lady?’ Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. ‘After all those things she said about you, a lady?’” (149). This quote justifies Jem’s anger: Mrs. Dubose understood every word she was saying, and nevertheless knew better than to shout it out. That is why her “shot had gone home” (135), as Scout describes.