How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird Character Essay Learning to be a protective, brave man, is sometimes difficult for young boys. It is especially difficult when protecting someone might risk your own life. This mature lesson is one Jem learns in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Jem transforms from controlling and bossy to protective and courageous. This comes due to the experience of reading to Mrs. Dubose and learning about true courage. At the beginning of the novel, Jem seems to be a controlling and bossy older brother. He appears this way to the reader and to other characters. Jem displays this quote when Scout said “You mean we can’t play anymore?” and Jem responded, “We’ll do like we always do at home, but you’ll see—school’s different”(11). Through this quote, it is clear that Jem controls Scout, Jem lets Scout know that he only wants to be seen with her at
Jem most notably learns this when Atticus tells him, “I want you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what”(93). Atticus says this in reference to Mrs. Dubose. He says this because he wants Jem to understand that having a gun doesn’t make you have courage, courage is when you never give up, just like Mrs. Dubose. By the end of the novel, it is clear that Jem has learned to be protective and to have true courage. Jem displays being protective and having courage when he saves Scout from a much larger component, Bob Ewell. Even though he knows he probably can’t win, he does everything he can to protect Scout, “Jem was up like lightning and pulling me with him”(222). Even though Jem didn’t have a good chance, and he went through pain, he kept trying to protect his sister. Jem never gave up, which according to Atticus, that is what defines true