When Jem makes his first visit with Scout to Mrs Dubose’s house, Mrs Dubose greets him with “so you brought that dirty little sister of yours did you? ” to which he replied with “my sister ain’t dirty. ” Scout could see that Jem was shaking as he said it but he said it anyway because he cared about Scout. Jem also protects Scout from Dill, in that Dill only sneaks kisses to Scout when Jem isn’t looking. At the end of the novel, Jem bravely tries to defend Scout from Bob Ewell who tries to kill them that night after the pageant. He was knocked unconscious after trying to help Scout escape.
Jem’s changes as he grows up is evident throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Jem would hang out together with Dill and Scout, but as it progresses, Jem drifted more towards Dill and away from Scout. This shows that he is growing up to be less of a kid and more into a young adult who wants to socialise with other boys, without having his younger sister tag along. He starts to understand more of the world and what is happening around them. However, even though he believes that he is mature and understands everything, he still doesn’t quite recognize just how big the issue of racism is and how it affects the system of justice.
Jem also starts to read the newspaper and is always telling Scout new things he learnt as a mean to show he is more knowledgeable. He was invited to sit at the adults table when the family went to Aunt Alexandra’s for dinner, leaving Scout to sit by herself on the children’s table. Jem strives to become a lawyer when he grows up, just like Atticus. He has been set a good example of what is right and wrong, which is why Jem is so obviously upset after watching the case. Jem is really upset with the outcome of the court case. When Scout mentions Miss Gates to him, he becomes really angry and shuts himself in his room.
The Term Paper on Aunt Alexandra Scout Jem Atticus
... begins, Jem is now too old to be bothered by his little sister, which causes Scout great dismay. To add to Scout's disappointment, Dill won't ... neighbors. The story starts with the first summer that Scout and Jem meet Dill, a little boy from Meridian, Mississippi who spends ... play the game less frequently after that, and Jem and Dill begin excluding Scout, spending more and more time together in the ...
Jem has a strong sense of justice, which is wavered after Tom Robinson’s sentence. He wholeheartedly believes that Tom Robinson is innocent and was confident that Atticus would win the trial. The evidence presented also gave him more hope about the outcome of the case. Jem is devastated with the final verdict as he does not see why Tom Robinson was still declared guilty, even though all evidence proves him to be innocent. He knows that the result of the case is this way because Tom Robinson is African American but Jem still doesn’t fully comprehend the meaning of racism as his father has protected him from it since birth.
