How Does Harper Lee Present Jem As Developing And Changing Over The Course Of The Novel?

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How Does Harper Lee Present Jem As Developing And Changing Over The Course Of The Novel?

Harper Lee's character Jem Finch from her famous novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is very significant because during the course of the novel he undergoes a great maturation process. As he matures a great deal mentally he sees the evil in society and understands the social and emotional issues as an adult would, which helps him come to understand all the events which are occurring around him.

At the beginning of the story Harper Lee illustrates examples of Jem’s child-like immaturity. You are told Jem’s age by Scout "When I was almost six and Jem was almost ten" (p.6) early on in the novel to help show he is still a child. Harper Lee then goes on to give more early signs in the novel of Jem’s naivety when he gives a description of Boo Radley “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch” (p.13) as you can see the description of Boo it is one of an imaginative child. I think Harper Lee has chosen to include this portrayal of Boo from Jem to help show he is still very much a child, this therefore helps set up the aging process that is to follow.

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There are many small incidents that show signs of Jem maturing such as Jem eventually stopping all games involving Boo. This is because he matures enough to see Atticus' point of view, he tells his children to consider things from another point of view "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Harper Lee has included this to once again help show the reader that Jem is maturing. Another small incident of Jem ageing is when for example Scout says “His eyebrows ...

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This response begins to explore some interesting ideas and concepts but they need to be developed and explored in more detail. As an essay it needs to be longer and Jem's interaction and relationship with other characters needs to be investigated in more detail. 4 Stars