Essay On Jem's Transformation In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the story is centralized around a young girl named Scout and her experiences in a racist society; however, throughout the plotline, Lee develops another extremely dynamic character: Jem, Scout’s older brother. As a bildungsroman, the novel observes Jem’s transition from the naive and innocent world of a child to the callous and bigoted adult-world of the 1930’s. When their father, Atticus, is assigned a case as the defendant of Tom Robinson, a black man who allegedly raped a white woman, Jem’s transition is catalyzed by his exposure to the emotionally heavy concepts of rape and racism. Despite much of their Maycomb County community encouraging Atticus to drop the case, Jem’s father pursues in defending Tom even as he receives threats from previously called friends, ultimately disillusioning Jem about their hometown. Through his determination to fight for a lost cause, Atticus instills in an adolescent Jem a distinct sense of morality as well as pride in opposing injustice, all of which culminate in him budding into a refined young adult. Prior to the court case, Jem and Scout share the quality of childhood innocence, playing and laughing together, oblivious to the racism around them. Children, nonetheless, they relish the freedom that comes with summer, the season being “sleeping on the back screened porch in cots... everything good to eat... [and] a thousand colors in a parched landscape” (Lee, 38). Imaginations running wild, they spend hours with their best friend, Dill, reenacting chapters from “Tarzan and the Ant Men” (17) and indulging themselves in neighborhood myth as they discreetly stalk an ominous family from across the street. However, the gold of childhood disappears in Jem over time, and he grows more distant from Dill and Scout, at one point betraying Dill’s location to Atticus; by doing so, he breaks “the remaining code of [their] childhood” (159). His display of maturity in the circumstance foreshadows his development into a man and more importantly, his ability to understand the gravity of situations around him. However, with the potential to comprehend more, he is burdened especially with the outcomes of Atticus’ case, which, in a blatant show of racism by the jury, the black man is sentenced to death. As Jem solidifies his beliefs, it becomes evident that he has a distinct sense of what …show more content…
Atticus’ loss in court had not amounted to nothing; he had thoroughly embarrassed the family of the woman and made it apparent to any unbiased viewer that the allegation was false. Howbeit, his victory is found to be detrimental, especially when the patriarch of the family, under the influence, assaults Scout and Jem. As consternation pushes Scout to ask “Jem, are you afraid?” (300) he responds in “an unhurried, flat toneless voice… No. Be real quiet again, Scout” (300). In the precarious situation, Jem essentially saves the lives of him and his sister by keeping calm and avoiding panic; indirectly, Jem’s maturity is described as a significant part of his character with his transition finally complete. Ultimately, Lee weaves a bildungsroman which leaves the reader reflecting upon his or her own metamorphosis from child to adult. She utilizes Jem’s character to develop one of the many themes in To Kill a Mockingbird, conveying the melancholy truth that the innocent and naive aspects of youth evanesces with the transition into