How Does Jem Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes an account of the narrator Scout’s childhood and how she matures over the course of a few years. In the story, Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, live in Maycomb, Alabama. They think Maycomb is a perfect world. When Atticus, their father, is asked to defend Tom Robinson who is a black man falsely accused of rape, they realize Maycomb is a not-so-perfect town. Most of the citizens are racist and hateful. Lee uses the many lessons she and Jem learned to make this a Bildungsroman. Harper Lee illustrates the coming of age theme through the major characters of Jem, Scout, and Dill. Jem Finch is one of the main characters experiencing coming of age. Many different things shape Jem into the man he will become. Some think that the growth of Jem is related to the theme and structure of the novel (Schuster). The themes of the novel help Jem…show more content…
While Atticus is about to be attacked by Mr. Cunningham, Scout and Jem walk up. Scout begins to talk to Mr. Cunningham and he soon leaves. After they went home, she said, “The full meaning of the night’s events hit me and I began to cry” (208). She also sees that her teacher at school is rude to others. “Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home” (331). Her teacher looks down upon the lower class kids but says that what Hitler is doing is awful. In reality, they are both doing the same thing; Hitler is just doing it to a larger extent. Scout also begins to see that Jem wants to hang out with more of his friends. He is getting too old to play with her. Scout says, “It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first began to part company” (75). She is just beginning to understand why Jem does not want to have his little sister around him. Atticus and Calpurnia, their cook, guide Scout through the hard times with Jem. Scout is one of the principal characters to come of age in To Kill a
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