Throughout the first part of Empire of the Sun, our protagonist, Jim, grows on several different levels as a result of the experiences that challenge him on the Chinese streets. Consequently, his perceptions of the world and his attitudes towards other human beings have a 'reality check', as the reader witnesses while watching the surreal image of a very young boy stuck by himself in the middle of a great war. Without having his mother or father to hold his hand anymore, Jim has to take care of himself, fend for himself and decide right from wrong, good from bad. He develops from a naive, confident and privileged young boy amidst a world of death and chaos to become more mature and street-wise, yet he still remains a young boy
             At the opening of the novel, we see Jim as a young boy, who is adventurous, lively, imaginative and confident, however, towards the end of Part One he develops a sense of maturity, as he has to be a child and a guardian at the same time and with the help of Bassie, grows and develops the skills one would need, to care for and provide for themselves during times of war. We see his lack of maturity on the opening chapters of the novel. Upon witnessing the Chinese women weeding the lawn at Dr. Lockwood's party, Mr. Maxted tells him that 'If all the people in China sat in a line they would stretch form the North to the South Pole' and all Jamie could say in reply was 'They could wed the whole world?'{26} also, his comments on the war ending 'that afternoon if possible'{69}, highlight his immaturity and naivety . Ballard sets up this immature and naive boy in the opening few scenes to make the reader aware of the type of boy we are dealing with, and also later on in the novel to be aware of the surreal situation he is actually in. Throughout and more so towards the end of the novel, Jim develops a sense of maturity and awareness, he realises the youthful games he pla...