Character Progression in To Kill a Mockingbird In the shadows of the Great Depression, everyday life for both children and adults alike must carry on. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise Finch, dubbed Scout by her close friends and family, recounts the tale of her brother Jeremy Finch, nicknamed Jem, and how his arm is injured. However, through the recollection, the children encounter prejudice, appearance vs reality, and grow as people. Lee appropriately uses the character progression of Atticus Finch, the children’s father, to show that a parent’s job is to teach his children compassion and understanding, and the development of Jem to show that experience has a heavy impact on maturity.
Atticus Finch is the intellectual …show more content…
The first major event that affects Jem negatively, the death of Mrs.Dubose, shows him that there are two sides to people, what they believe and who they are. From this, Jem learns true courage and to look past the surface of a person into the true nature of them and their actions. He learns that someone who he despises, someone who’s very sight emits an immediate response of vomit, may be wrestling with their inner demons. From the second, and arguably more important event, Jem learns countless lessons. Jem learns the strength of prejudice, that change does not happen in a tidal wave of change, but rather in tiny waves, and that no matter how much faith one has in something it may still let them down. Jem loses the very thing that makes a child a child the day of the trial, he loses the characteristic that makes him a mockingbird. Through the rest of the book, Jem begins to think about himself as a more mature and established being. He comforts Scout in her pain and fear, he assists and supports her in her role of ‘Ham’ in the school play, and he safeguards her from harm as best he can against the vendetta driven Bob Ewell. Jem is becoming an established male, and taking on his responsibilities as the elder brother of Scout and the son of Atticus. Jem knows now, through his experiences and the events of his life, that he is matured beyond his own
Atticus Finch is the intellectual …show more content…
The first major event that affects Jem negatively, the death of Mrs.Dubose, shows him that there are two sides to people, what they believe and who they are. From this, Jem learns true courage and to look past the surface of a person into the true nature of them and their actions. He learns that someone who he despises, someone who’s very sight emits an immediate response of vomit, may be wrestling with their inner demons. From the second, and arguably more important event, Jem learns countless lessons. Jem learns the strength of prejudice, that change does not happen in a tidal wave of change, but rather in tiny waves, and that no matter how much faith one has in something it may still let them down. Jem loses the very thing that makes a child a child the day of the trial, he loses the characteristic that makes him a mockingbird. Through the rest of the book, Jem begins to think about himself as a more mature and established being. He comforts Scout in her pain and fear, he assists and supports her in her role of ‘Ham’ in the school play, and he safeguards her from harm as best he can against the vendetta driven Bob Ewell. Jem is becoming an established male, and taking on his responsibilities as the elder brother of Scout and the son of Atticus. Jem knows now, through his experiences and the events of his life, that he is matured beyond his own