Jem Coming Of Age Analysis

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Throughout the story To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem Finch matures into a man by going through difficult times and events. Jem learns critical life lessons by going through a series of events that impacted him. Because of the trial, Jem felt sorrow and sadness for Tom Robinson because he disagreed with the verdict. Three main reasons for Jem “coming of age” are him watching over Scout, the events he went through, and Atticus’s support throughout Jem’s childhood. In the end, Jem grows to be a man with amazing traits such as bravery and couragousness.
To start, Jem must watch over Scout to protect her, but he thinks of it as dragging her around so he can’t do anything. Jem thinks of it as Scout being an anchor dragging behind Jem, pulling him back. During the scene when Atticus confronts the mob trying to protect Tom Robinson, Scout runs up to Atticus. She shows great bravery standing before the mob, and talking to Mr. Cunningham. In this moment, Jem learns that bravery isn’t just touching the Radley’s fence, it’s more than that. From this moment he protects her with more bravery and prioritizes the wellbeing of Scout. For example, Scout decides to chew on a piece of gum she found from the Radley’s tree hole. Once Jem knew it, he immediately said, “spit it out right now!”. Then he exclaimed
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Jem wishes to grow up just like him, and be a lawyer just like his father. A major event that happens in the book is when the mad dog approaches the Finch’s street. The sheriff tells Atticus that he has the best shot in town and that he must take the shot. “‘I can’t shoot that well and you know it!’ ‘I haven’t shot a gun in thirty years’” (Lee 127). When he shoots the dog, he saved Jem and Scout from danger, and also taught them a great deal of bravery. From that moment on, Jem looked up to Atticus as a role model. Overall, Atticus demonstrates much bravery and is a great role model for

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