To Kill A Mockingbird Jem Character Analysis

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book which familiarizes readers with the Maycomb County through the experiences of Scout, Dill, And Jem. Throughout the story, the trio sees different aspects of Maycomb and slowly begins to grow from their childhood innocence. Jem in particular matures significantly, but is only able to do so by realizing that things are not always as they seem, recognizing that there is evil in the world, and developing compassion for those less fortunate. Firstly, Jem matures when he realizes that things are not always as they seem. One example of this would be his interactions with Mrs. Dubose. He learns that although Mrs. Dubose may have been ‘plain hell’ to the children, she was incredibly brave and fought hard for what she believed in, no matter how difficult it may have seemed. At first, he thinks
One example of this would be his feeling towards Tom Robinson’s sentence. Jem feels so strongly for Tom that when he is convicted “his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them.” This shows that he thought wholeheartedly that Tom was innocent and to sentence him on the basis that he is black, Another example would be his thoughts on Boo’s seclusion. He states “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.” Jem realizes that perhaps Boo stays inside all the time to protect himself from the inevitable prejudice he would draw for being so different from everyone else. This shows that Jem has matured significantly from the beginning when he couldn’t fathom why Boo would possible stay inside when “Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world”. His compassion for individuals in Maycomb subjected to the evils in the world mark the loss of the innocent thought that in his world, everyone is safe and free of