How does Scout and Jem mature during the novel? Jem is the older child and therefore matures much faster than Scout. At the beginning of the story, we see Jem as a boy of childish thoughts and behaviour. He invents games and amuses himself with the Boo Radley's mystery. He believes that Boo is "chained to his bed" and his description of Boo is that of a child’s. His childishness is clearly revealed when he carries out the dare of touching Boo's house. He also shows this when he tramples on Mrs Dubose's flowers because she has called Atticus awful names like "nigger-lover". However as the story progresses Jem gradually outgrows his childishness and this is shown by various events in the novel. Being four years older than Scout, he is beginning to be aware of the age gap between them. For example he has to be bribed by Atticus to take Scout on her first day of school. He is also careful to explain that during school hours Scout was to leave him alone. He becomes critical in his attitude towards her as a girl and when Dill stays in Maycomb he excludes Scout from their activities. He now tells her, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right". Jem is growing up all the time. This can be seen when he stops Scout from embarrassing Dill by asking about his family life. Jem later decides to write a thank you note for the gifts Boo leaves in the tree trunk and is upset when the knothole is cemented up. although he takes care to cry about it in private. Jem also involves himself closely in the trial, he understands most of the arguments. When Tom is found guilty, he appears to be let down. This is part of the experience of growing up. He tells Scout sadly, "I think I'm beginning to understand why B... ... middle of paper ... ...st advance in her relationship with her aunt occurs at a missionary circle gathering when news is brought of Tom Robinson's death and Scout thinks that, "If Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I." Scout has realised that ladylike behaviour can be more than a superficial facade; it can demonstrate strength of character. Finally Scout's ability to be a lady is longer doubted when one sees the kindness she extends to Boo once he has saved herself and Jem from Bob Ewell. She understands from Boo's little actions and gestures that he wants to see Jem again before he leaves. She also retains his dignity on the way home by making sure that he appears to be leading her rather than the other way round. Scout expresses regret that "we had never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing". This shows her maturity again.
“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations.” is a quote from Samuel Ullman. This describes the struggles that Jem went through by taking part in the community and trial and by also taking the risk of losing some of his friends and family in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through Jem’s interaction with the racism of Maycomb, he became aware of the things around him. We all learn that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society.
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.
At the start of Part Two, Jem starts to grow to be a more mature person and develop a want for wisdom and knowledge. “In addition to Jem’s newly developed characteristics, he had acquired a maddening air of wisdom.” (116) In this quote, Calpurnia is speaking to Scout letting her know that the reason for Jem’s sudden changes is that he is growing up and is almost a young man. Jem is beginning to mature mentally. Jem wants to become more ...
Jem shows that he is growing up in many different ways. For example, he shows this when he goes back to the Radley house to retrieve his pants. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way.” (Jem 75) The fact that Jem went back to get his pants was a brave decision. This quote shows that he is maturing because he didn’t want Atticus to whip him, but not because he was afraid, because he didn’t want Atticus to go through the pain of having to whip his child. A quote that describes Jem at the moment is "We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice--that is, until we have stopped saying 'It got lost,' and say, 'I lost it.'"(Sydney J. Harris). In addition to Jem’s developing characteristics, he acquired a load of wisdom. Jem shows a loss of innocence, after his perfect view of the world is shattered right in front of his eyes. For example, “I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, at least that’s what they seemed like.”(Jem 288) This is important because Jem realizes that Maycomb folks aren’t that great. This also shows that he saw the prejudice in the people, and how racist they were to African Americans. As Jem matures and starts developing a new eye for the world, he slowly starts to lose his childhood innocence and is exposed to the wrong doings of the
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.
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.
Primarily, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem is young. Scout states their age when it supposedly all starts: "When I was almost six and Jem was almost ten..." (10). Here Jem is only nine years old and therefore still a moderately young child; it is assumed he is therefore immature. Jem also spends his time playing with his five year old sister.
Jem begins to understand that Boo is not dangerous instead he wants to help him and Scout. Boo leaves gifts for the children in hole in the tree and Mr. Nathan puts cement in the tree to stop Boo from communicating With the children. Also later in the story they find out that Boo put a blanket over them during the fire.
When something serious happens that would normally not happen until adulthood, it forces a child to “grow up” such as going through a loss or another difficult time. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, numerous situations occur which cause Scout and Jem to mature and “come of age”. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem face several complicated situations, for example, there are many cases in which people verbally attack Scout and her family. Scout has to learn to control her anger and to not get in fights with those who provoke her. In the novel, Scout and Jem encounter numerous circumstances which cause them to mature and “grow” such as reading for their neighbor, the trial for which their father is a lawyer, and having to defend
Among many things, Miss Maudie teaches Scout that she should not judge people based solely on rumors she might hear about them. Scout, being only six years old at the time of the story, believes everything that reaches her hears and takes most things literally. Rumors she hears about a man named Boo Radley, who many consider the town freak because of his different lifestyle and because nobody ever sees him, create in her the belief that he is a crazy maniac. The activities she takes part in with her older brother Jem and their friend Dill only fuel her theories about Boo. When Jem and Dill begin shunning Scout aside, she spends her time with Miss Maudie instead, and they develop a kind of friendship. Miss Maudie, a Baptist who loves nature, has high morals, and treats everyone as equals, aids in Scout discontinuing her belief about Boo Radley’s state of mind. At one point, they have a conversation regarding Boo. They discuss the rumors Scout has heard thus far about him, and Miss Maudie shoots down her beliefs. When Scout asks Mi...
That does not mean he is only maturing because of his age though. The ways Jem is seen treating Scout as he gets older, is noticeable that he is going through puberty. An example of this type of act from Jem is when he wants to stay in his room and have privacy. Scout thinks, “Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody. His appetite was appalling, and he told me so many times to stop pestering him” (Lee 153). This quote explains Jem is growing through puberty and this causes Jem to do more boy like things, like stay in his room and want to play football. Scout also notices that, “His eyebrows were becoming heavier, and I noticed a new slimness about his body. He was growing taller” (Lee 301). After scout sees this, Jem shows Scout his chest hair which is another sign of his physical body growing older. He also is showing Scout his chest hair because he is proud of it and that he is growing older. Because Jem is growing up he thinks differently too, and it changes how he acts. One act of Jem’s is that he defends his father's name. When Mrs. Dubose calls Atticus a n-word lover for defending Tom Robinson, Jem destroys her flowers. Later at the end of the story Jem becomes more brave when Bob Ewell attacked him and Scout. Jem is brave in this situation because when Bob is attacking Scout, Jem protects her and tries to stop Bob from hurting
Boo Radley’s maturity is depicted in the novel when he overcomes his fear and interacts with Scout, Jem and Dill. Boo, who is notorious for being a recluse, is a shy, lonely man who rarely leaves his house and does not understand the world around him. However, when he finally comes to interact with the children, he matures both mentally and socially. One example of when Boo matured physically was when Boo rescued Jem from Mr. Ewell. Boo finally found his inner strength and decided to enter the woods and save Jem. By doing this, he demonstrated that he learned to overcome his fear and be around others. A second example is when Boo laughed at Scout, Jem and Dill. When Boo laughed, the author does not tell us the type of laugh. “Through all the head-shaking, quelling of nausea and Jem-yelling, I had heard another sound, so low I could not have heard it from the sidewalk. Someone inside the house was laughing” (Pg.41). The laugh could have a variety of different implications. The laugh could be foreshadowing that Boo will come out of his house and talk with Scout, Dill, and Jem....
Imagine just two young kids maturing within a matter of years. Imagine that same two kids, experiencing or understanding things that they aren’t meant to at a young age. Jem and Scout were just like that. They have experienced many things that they shouldn’t have at their age. Scout on the other hand, seems to be the one maturing the most. Throughout this whole essay, you will learn about Jem and Scout’s attributes, personality, and how alike or different they are from each other.
the tree and the boy have a special connection, they love being around each other. theres so many things that indicates that they love each other and are happy when around each other. “and every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them a crown and play king of the forest” is one way of saying they enjoy the company. “and when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.” is another example. the two sentences are saying that when the tree is giving something to the boy and in return the tree is getting
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” said Simone de Beauvoir. I think what she meant by this was that you aren’t born a certain person. Who you are develops throughout your entire life. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows us how one of the main characters, Jem, is starting to develop who he is as a person.