To Kill a Mockingbird Awp

Maria Galvez
May 22, 2013
English 1H Block 5
TKaM AWP
Evolution of Characters Character development refers to the change of a dynamic character over the course of a narrative. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is the story of a young girl, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, as they grow and change as a result of the prejudice around them. Although Jem and Scout both grow and change as characters throughout the story, Jem shows much more development than Scout. Scout’s character developed a lot throughout the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird. When Scout and Jem’s summer friend, Dil,l did not come to Maycomb for the summer, Scout said, “With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable. I stayed miserable for two days.” (Lee 116). Scout was only distraught about her love-life for a few days. She did not really focus on any one thing; she only focused on the sad news for a couple days. When Dill cried about the unfairness of the trial for Tom Robinson, Scout said, “Well, Dill, after all, he’s just a negroe.” (199). She thought that Tom’s fate did not matter because he was just a negroe. This encompassed Scout’s entire immaturity, showing that she did not develop much at all. It shows that she may not have really learned anything from Atticus’ sacrifices. After Cecil Jacobs taunted Scout with insults, she said, “It was the first time I ever walked away from a fight.” (77). She just clenched her fists and walked away. In the past, she would have fought back with violence, but now she just let it go. When Jem talked about the difference in all the people of Maycomb, Scout said, “Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (227) Scout realized that all people are more or less the same. This statement somewhat redeemed her and proved that she may have actually gleaned some knowledge from observing Atticus. Jem also developed in the story. Jem grew a lot as a person throughout the book. After Scout fought with Walter, Jem told him, “Come on home to dinner with us, Walter, we’d be glad to have you.” (Lee 23). Jem offered for Walter to eat a meal with them after Scout was rude to him. Jem had more manners that Scout at this point because he recognized that she was being mean and wanted to make it up to him. Upon finding items in the knothole of the tree, Scout pointed out, “he looked for a long time at the Radley Place. He seemed to be thinking again.” (35). Jem would go into silences, where he would just think about the things going on in his life. He was more intellectual because he thought about things that were going on, where Scout just announced everything she felt. After Atticus tricked Jem, he said, “I thought I wanted to be a lawyer but I ain’t so sure now!” (50). Jem wanted to be a lawyer, like his father, but then he was not so sure. Jem was beginning to see the other side to things he thought were so good. He realized how lawyers could be manipulative and did not want to mislead people like that. After Scout said that Atticus probably forgot something, Jem got upset and said, “Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!” (99). Later, as the judge announced Tom Robinson’s guilties, Scout noted, “his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them.” (211). Jem was like Atticus and was very polite; he felt Tom’s pain as if it were his own, as if he were the one receiving the guilty votes. Jem is compassionate and somewhat of a Christ figure just like Atticus; he was developing and becoming more and more like Atticus every day. Scout and Jem both developed a lot throughout the story. Harper Lee does an amazing job of developing her characters throughout the plot. Jem and Scout are both developed in the book, but readers can see that Jem goes through much more internal conflict. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that can serve as a perfect example for revealing characters over time.