To Kill a Mockingbird
Children’s experiences shape who they are as an adult. In Harper Lee’s work, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus, a lawyer of Maycomb, teaches his kids, Jem and Scout, about the judgmental society and the racism that is present in their everyday lives. Jem matures through experiences with Maycomb county and the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape. Jem shows signs of maturity at the beginning of the Tom Robinson trial through Jem’s personality change. When Jem enters middle school, he starts to become “difficult to live with, inconsistent and moody” (115). During this time, Jem becomes aware of the racism that is present in Maycomb. Jem also matures physically making it overwhelming for Jem to accept all the new concepts he is discovering. Jem starts to think like an adult and his sudden behavior shows he is starting to grow up. Jem and Scout are inseperble but even Scout notices the change in Jem. Mrs. Dubose affected Jem where he “acquired and alien set of rules” and even told Scout, “ it’s time you started being a girl and acting right” (115). After the death of Mrs. Dubose, he looks at the world a different way. He matures a lot more and tries to imply them on Scout. Before, he would tell Scout to stop being such a girl, but now he says the opposite. It shows Jem thinks like an adult and acts like one. Because of the experiences with Maycomb, Jem acts more responsible and a little of his innocence is taken away.
During the trial, Jem sees the injustice the Tom Robinson faces. As a result, he makes an effort to do what is right. Dill, a friend of Jem and Scout, runaways from home to Jem and Scout’s house. Even if Jem “broke the remaining code of [their] childhood”, he told Atticus about Dill (141). Jem matured, risking the relationship with Scout and Dill to do what is right. This shows Tom Robinson’s trial affected him greatly because it teaches him to do whats right under pressure. He knows from right and wrong and is willing to take responsibility for it. Jem shows he is growing up because no kid would tell and break the “code of their childhood”. Towards the end of the trial, Scout wanted to squish a bug but Jem stops her. His reason was because “ they don’t bother you”(238). The unfairness towards Tom Robinson affected him greatly
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