The novel To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee is about a young girl named Scout and her brother, Jem, growing up in the small, southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout and Jem live with their older father, Atticus, and spend their summers playing with their friend, Dill. They have many neighbors, and one is an older woman named Mrs. Dubose. As the siblings grow older, they begin to drift apart and new disagreements begin. Yet, as Jem begins change, he starts to think more maturely about feuds with his sister and opinions towards his neighbors. For example, in the tire incident, Jem realizes that Scout is in trouble and tries to help her. In addition, in the flower incident with Mrs. Dubose, Jemfs anger causes him to try to defend Atticus. Jem thinks that he is acting very maturely during the tire incident and the flower incident with Mrs. Dubose.
Jem thought he was being responsible during the tire incident because he took care of Scout. When Jem, Scout, and Dill are playing in the yard one day, Scout decides she wants to be pushed in the tire. As Scout and Dill are arguing over who will go first, Jem arbitrates, and awards Scout with the first push. Jem then accidentally rolls the tire into the Radley yard. Jem is frightened and says, gScout, get away from there, come on!h (37). This quote shows that Jem is taking on some responsibility for Scout. When he pushes her into the Radleyfs Yard, Jem feels angry about what Scout had said earlier, so he wants to get revenge. Yet, when Jem sees Scout lying on the ground he immediately feels worried and scared for her, and tries to get her to come to safety. As Jem grows up, he begins to develop new views on situations. Scoutfs situation during the tire incident reminds Jem that he needs to take on full responsibility of his sister.
Jem thought that the most mature way to express his feelings about Mrs. Dubose was to cut off all of her flowers. When Jem and Scout are