To Kill A Mockingbird

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Jem Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird

“To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set a small town called Maycomb in Alabama, in the 1930s. The community of Maycomb is of mixed ethnicity and like most places of that time the white people believe they were the dominant race. The book is seen through the eyes of two children: Jem and Scout Finch who are growing up in this society. As Jem gets older he becomes conscious of the fact that this community and these adults who surround him are not always right and this makes him feel lost.
Jem is older than Scout and clearly remembers his mother. His sensitive nature makes him more aware of her death and he misses her. When Jem meets Dill he analyses him, like most children and accepts him, Jem knows what it is like losing a parent so when Scout touches on the topic of Dills dad (who left him) Jem tells her to ‘hush’, this confirms his understanding of others. Jem believes that Boo’s form of intimidation by his Father to stay in the house was ‘to chain him to the bed’ and his wild child like imagination of Boo Radley at the beginning is important because as the book progresses and Jem gets older, he realizes that Boo is just a normal human being who might not want to go outside. Boo Radley’s attempt to keep in contact with the outside world is through Jem and Scout. He does this by placing his most prized possessions in a knothole in a tree for the children to find, at first Jem doesn’t know it’s Boo but he gradually pieces the personal objects and facts together and works it out. When Mr Nathan blocks up the knothole Jem is troubled, and he becomes conscious that the world of adults is not as he thought it would be, Boo’s attempt to stay in contact with the outside world has been diminished and there isn’t much he can do. He feels helpless and he weeps for Boo.
During Miss Maudie’s house fire Jem acts like a father figure towards Scout he even uses Atticuss’ phrase ...