To Kill a Mocking Bird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a time of the depression and where racism is dominant, in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Jem is the older brother of Scout and sometimes he does not take responsibility of his actions but now knows that he needs to be responsible and courageous. Jem is brave. He shows bravery while looking out for Scout, taking chances and standing up for what he believes in. While watching out for Scout, Jem is brave. For example, Jem decides that he wants Boo Radley to come out of his house. Boo Radley has never been seen in public since he was eighteen. When he was younger his dad took him out of a correctional facility because he believed that it was unnecessary and that he could do a better job raising his son than some other person. Jem wants to drop the note into Boo’s house with a fishing pole when he tells Scout, “Don’t make a sound. Don’t get in a row of collards whatever you do, they’ll wake the dead” (52). Jem could have not taken Scout to Boo’s but by taking her to be responsible for her. Jem is being courageous because he is taking responsibility for not only himself but also Scout and this makes it more difficult. He has to make sure Scout is quiet and will not get them caught. If he had decided not to take her this escapade could have been a lot easier for everyone. Another example is when Jem and Scout are walking back from the church after Scout preforms on Halloween. He and Scout begin to walk back when they hear noises. At first they think it is Cecil Jacobs and they call for him but he does not answer them. Jem says to Scout, “Were almost to the tree now. Few feet from that and we’ll be at the road. We can see the street light then”. Scout seems to be getting more and more nervous when she asks Jem, “You reckon we oughta sing, Jem?” Jem then says, “No. Be real quiet again, Scout” (261). Jem knows that the person behind him and Scout is after them but does not want to startle Scout. He tries to stay brave for the both of them by staying calm and not making Scout anxious. He keeps them both at a steady pace and tries his hardest to get the home. Lastly, Jem and Scout hear the footsteps coming closer and closer to them and he tells Scout to run. Scout panics a bit but runs anyways. She, “[Knows they are] nearly, to the road when [she feels] Jem’s hand leave [her and feels] him jerk backwards to the ground. [There is] more scuffling and then came a dull crunching sound and Jem screamed” (262). Jem is being brave because if he had not told Scout to run who knows what would have happened. He let Mr. Ewell get him and Scout because he stayed behind her to make sure she was safe. While standing up for what he believes in, Jem is brave. For example, Jem, Dill and Scout all go to Boo Radley’s house to try to get him to come out. “Jem [attaches] the note to the end of the fishing pole, let the pole out across the yard and pushed it toward the window…Jem leaned over as far as he could [into the Radley window]” (46). This shows that he is brave because he tries to get Boo out of his house. He does not know if it will work but the fact that he is trying is good enough. Next, Atticus decided to go out and meet with a few other people and discuss the KKK. Jem is curious about what he is going to talk about and takes it into his own hands. Once Scout and Jem got to Atticus they realized that he was being ganged up on. Atticus tells Jem to take Scout home but he refuses. Scout, “[Seems to be] getting a bit tired of that, but [feels] Jem [has] his own reasoning for doing what he [does]” (153). This shows that Jem is brave while standing up for what he believes in because he knows that these people are getting annoyed by him but instead he stays there and makes them stop talking and arguing about what is going on. He did not have to do this but he feels that Atticus cannot do this on his own. He is strong and does not care that he just disrupted an important conversation. Furthermore, while at the trial for Tom Robinson, Jem believes that Tom is innocent and that he can win this. When the trial comes to a close the verdict did not come out in Tom’s favor. Jem was shocked, “[and] it was [his] turn to cry. His face [became] streaked with angry tears as [they] made their way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right’” (213) is all Jem was able to get out. This shows bravery because he is able to sit through the whole trial and hear everyone’s side of the story. It is a lot for a twelve year old to take in, but he succeeds and is okay. Not everyone can stick through something so serious without crying but Jem knows he can.