Jem Finch is one of the most important and complex characters in the novel. Over the course of the story his behavior and his relationship with his sister, Scout, change dramatically. In the story To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, a trial tears apart a town and the Finches are caught right in the middle of it. This event and other small occurrences that take place in this novel, forever change Jem. He is suddenly introduced into the adult world and it changes the way he and Scout act towards each other. Jem and Scout's relationship changes, as Jem becomes too wise for her, suddenly much more mature, and begins to resemble their father, Atticus.
At several points in this book it is very evident that Jem has become a lot smarter as he gets older. At the beginning of the story, several instances show that Jem thought and acted like a child. The greatest evidence of Jem's child-like acts comes when he, Scout, and Dill are playing games with Boo Radley. Jem says, "You're too scared to even put your big toe in the front yard." Although seemingly irrelevant, this quote does show how childish Jem is. At this point in the novel Jem and Scout are at about the same intellectual stage. However, things change as Jem starts to hit puberty
. . .
As Jem becomes a young Adult before the very eyes of a reader, Scout does not change as rapidly. She shows he lack of maturity when she says, "He-y Atticus!" during a tense scene in which her father is involved. As the story unfolds he becomes more mature and smarter, changing the relationship between him and his sister. They both enjoyed to foolish things together as all children do. At times he denies these similarities, but Scout makes it known several times how alike the two are becoming. Scout doesn't believe Jem, but she really doesn't have any understanding about what is going on. The static maturity level of Scout is what draws the two siblings farther and farther apart over the course of the story. This quality made them very close siblings. 'It's different with grown folks, we-' His maddening superiority was unbearable these days. When Scout says, "Reckon he's got a tapeworm" to Atticus about Jem's odd behavior, it is the turning point intellectually between Jem and Scout. Earlier in the novel, Scout and Jem's maturity levels were at about the same level. Scout remarks to herself, "As Atticus's fists went to his hips, so did Jem's, and as they faced each other I could see little resemblance between them. When Jem stands up to Atticus and does not leave the mob scene, he shows many attributes that Atticus exhibits. Scout is too young to realize that Jem is going through puberty.
Approximate Word count =
888
Approximate Pages =
4 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|