More handpicked essays just for you.
Theory of imitation in literature
How to kill a mockingbird character analysis essay
How to kill a mockingbird character analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Theory of imitation in literature
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Jem has the personality trait of being a good older brother. In Chapter 9, Atticus is talking to Uncle Jack about Scout and brings up Jem in the conversation. “Jem’s getting older and she follows his example a good bit now.” (Lee, pg. 116) This shows how Jem has the personality trait of being a good older brother because Jem is a good kid and he makes a good example for Scout to follow. If he continues to be a good example to Scout, she will learn from him in good ways. In Chapter 10, Jem and Scout go out exploring together with their air rifles. “...Jem and I decided to go exploring with our air rifles.” (Lee, pg. 122) This quote shows that Jem has the trait of being a good older brother
What does it mean to be a good parent? The most common definition of a good parent is one who makes their children feel valued and loved, by teaching them the difference between right and wrong. At the end of the day, the most essential thing is to create a nurturing environment where your children feel like they can mature into confident, independent, and caring adults. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird defines what a true parent really is thought hardships and struggles throughout the book. The story is set in the Depression era of a little town in southern Alabama that is struggling with thick prejudice on a colored rape case. The story is told through a character
Throughout the story we see Jem develop as a character who helps develop the idea that moral courage is greater than physical courage. Harper Lee does this several times, although it may not be originally intended, it can be evident to the reader.
Could Scout and Jem really learn any or take note of defining character traits from Atticus ? Yes , by watching and following Atticus’ beliefs and actions . In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird , by Harper Lee , Scout and Jem don’t really understand their father until a town scandal where an African American man is accused of raping a white girl . Atticus , the lawyer , must really stand up for his beliefs during the trial where he tries to save the innocent man . Atticus must show courage , modesty , and his beliefs for children to see his value and worth .
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with characters who change throughout the course of the novel. It is arguable that Jeremy “Jem” Finch, the son of Tom’s lawyer, has the most profound character development in To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel Jem transitions from child to young adult. This is evident when the adults in his life begin treating him differently. Jem’s is stripped of his innocence as the book progresses. This becomes apparent when he is no longer levelheaded and when he is distraught during the court trial . The dynamics of Jem’s relationships with the other characters of the novel changes drastically. Lee shows this when Jem acts like an adult figure to Scout and no longer sees Dill as an equal. Jem’s
All children learn that it is wrong to judge people because they are different in their own ways. Jem learns in Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mocking Bird. At the beginning of the novel , easy-going and he accepts Dill quickly but throughout the book he gets confident but Jem doesn't worry. Jem shows this when he says " There is one just one kind of folks why can't they get along with each other?" ( pg 108 ). Jem learned not to judge others but to understand just because we aren't the same and our personality is different. This lesson helps Jem become more mature after the verdict of Tom Robinson and the changes in him are apparent when they are in the courthouse (pg 161) he learned that you have to fights for what's right even if you lose.
This was the start of Jem starting to become fearless. Moreover, Jem find a way to deal with Atticus facing a mad dog, Mrs. Dubose fighting addiction, and Scout’s confrontation with the mob at the jail, all at the same time! Instead of backing down, he accepted this, and moved on. In addition to this, Jem must devote some of his time and efforts to being Scout’s counselor. At the beginning of the story, Jem didn’t want to have anything to do with Scout; often ignoring her at school, and telling her to stay away from him. But later on in the story, he changed. Whenever Scout was feeling depressed, or in trouble, Jem would be there to suppress the situation, and make it better. He would occasionally offer Scout emotional guidance, telling her to do things such as be less defiant and follow orders, or to relax and listen. Also, being that he is her older brother, he must set the model that she must follow. Besides sacrificing his time and efforts to Scout, he also sacrifices himself to Atticus, as he’d rather be personally injured, than to disappoint him and/or see him get
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the children of Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem, considerably mature. As Jem approaches puberty he changes as many events happen around him. Scout does not always understand things, but Jem is old enough to understand and recognize how serious the events and conversations around them are. Jem and Scout mature faster than the other children around them. As they grow up there are dramatic changes in the thinking and behaviors of the children in the crucial years of their childhoods, but these siblings have more to cope with than others, and they learn many life lessons from the experiences they go through.
Scout does not heed Atticus’ advice in Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird, as she continues to express her biased hatred for Calpurnia, and also openly contradicts Jem, without considering the perspectives to which they are taking. As stated by Harper Lee, “...Calpurnia’s tyranny, unfairness, and meddling in my business had faded to gentle grumbling of general disapproval (45)”. This quote expresses the many ways Scout thinks of Calpurnia, a great many of which as terrible and controlling. This biased description of Calpurnia shows how Scout is still unable to understand why Calpurnia consistently disciplines her, and from what standpoint she is doing so. Also stated by Lee, “Jem stamped his foot. “Don’t you know you’re not suppose to even
Children are often different from their oarents, whether that difference is good or bad, which makes it necessary to look at Jem and Scout to see if Finch is a good father. It is easy to see that the children are quick to follow their fathers example, making Atticus the greatest father in literature. For anyone who has read the book, it is easy to see that Scout loves fighting, but she fights less and less as the book progresses, because Atticus has asked her to. A quote from her says "somehow, if I fought Cecil, I would let Atticus down. He rarely asked me to do something, I could take being called a coward for him". This quote is so important for scout's character development. Up to this point, scout beloved that his father was useless because he could not do anything, but scout is now deciding to be called a coward to be more similar to her father. Second is the evolution of Jem. He starts as an up to no good kid, who spends all his life playing football, Annoying the Radleys, and speaking down on Scout, but as the book progresses, Jem turns more and more into a gentleman, similar to his father. He protects scout and gives her advice when she is angry, and he goes everywhere with his father to be a helping hand. Scout even says that Jem is turning more and more into Finch everyday. She sad that she does not like it because she feels that she does not have anyone to play with. It is not t just Jem and Scout's mannerism that suggest Finch was a great father, it is also their level of education and understanding of the world. Both Scout and Jem have learned to read from a very young age. Jem even says that Scout knew how to read since she was born to emphasize how long she had been able to read. Both scout and Jem have a great understanding of the world around them. They have been expoised to racism, sexism, and rape, but unlike many others, they have not suffered from this. They know enough to
Throughout the novel Lee shows how Scout and Jem learn to respect everyone, to refrain from attacking others based on physical appearance, and to have the courage to set things right. As they gain experience, they will utilize these lessons to become more successful in the future and provide an example to everyone on how to understand other people and become a better person overall.
Jem is Scout's brother. He is a little older than Scout. He also becomes familiar with the prejudice of Maycomb County through the story. In addition, he grows up like most teenagers “He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody” “said Scout” (pg. #). That statement is made when Jem starts to grow up. He doesn’t want to play with Scout like a little kid anymore. He wants to be a man.
In the beginning of the book, Jem was friendly to Scout, and he was her sole playmate growing up. But as time went on, Jem would often ignore Scout and leave her for other boys, because she was a girl. He even spent more time with Dill, who was decidedly younger than both Jem and Scout. He would regularly scold Scout for being pathetic and girl-like, which was funny because she was just using her common sense, though she used that to rain on Jem and Dill’s parade whenever they wanted to do something like sneak into the Radley house. “I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’(37)” Jem also began to display a different way of thinking, which confused Scout on many occasions. “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 I consulted Atticus.(114)” This is an excellent example of how Jem’s sudden changes in behavior worried Scout. Jem was Scout’s big brother, the person who grew up with her all her life, and now he was acting strange and aloof. This would understandably upset Scout, especially because she wasn’t old enough to understand what was happening to Jem. You can see this when Scout says things like, “ Reckon he’s got a tapeworm?(114)”, and “He ain’t that old,” I said. “All he needs is somebody to beat him up, and I ain’t big
I chose Jem because he plays an important role in Scout’s life. Jem and Scout spend each moment together and I think it is truly special to have your older brother also be your best friend. It is a social normality that the older brother is usually unkind to their little sister, but as Harper Lee tells us about the Finch family and their relationship with one another, it is a widely accepted fact that Jem and Scout are very close and aren’t mean to each other, most of the time.
In the award winning book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has the protagonist Jem and Scout learn many lessons. They're in an age where they can be easily influenced. The lesson that influenced the children the most was to consider things from other people's point of view. They learned this vital life lesson from their father Atticus.