Kill a mocking bird 1.2.3

Character Sketch of Jem in the Novel “ To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jeremy “ Jem” Finch is one of the main characters with an interesting role in the plot. He is the brother of Scout who is the narrator in the story. He is a dynamic character in Lee’s novel since his gradual development from a child to an adult can be perceived through the unfolding of the chapters. There are different points that can be considered as evidences to the maturity of Jem. One of the evidences of Jem’s growth is the consideration of other people around him. In the early chapters, he is known as a child who fights every conflict and never refuses dares thinking that those actions are expressions of bravery. In chapters 13-18 though different lines from the text showed Jem’s transformation. In the part where Jem and Scout’s father and aunt were having a discussion about Calpurnia, Jem told Scout in private to “ try not to antagonize” their Aunt since she is still young to understand that “ it’s different with grown folks.” In the said line he presented himself as an adult (Lee Chapter 14, p. 139). Another evidence of Jem’s growth is the manner by which he handled the situation with Dill. Although, Dill did not like it, Jem told his father that the child run away from home and explained to him that he “ cannot run three hundred miles off without his mother’s knowing” about it. This showed concern for other people (p. 143). The third evidence of Jem’s maturity is his awareness and understanding of the issues being discussed in court during the trial of the rape case. He explained to Dill that the matter was about. In addition, when Scout pointed out the fact that they had been seen by Mr. Underwood Jem said that he would not tell Attricus and that “ he’ll just put it on the social side of the Tribune” in a manner that expresses the level of his understanding of adults’ affair (Lee Chapter 28, p. 192). Work Cited: Milton, Joyce and Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird. McIntosh and Otis, Inc., 1988.