To Kill A Mockingbird: The Brave Jem Finch Essay, Research Paper
To Kill A Mockingbird: The Brave Jem Finch
The book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has manycharacters and themes.
The main themes are racism and theinteraction of colored and white people in the
south. The settingis Maycomb County, Alabama. The main characters are the
Finchfamily; father Atticus, daughter and narrater Jean Louise (Scout),and her
older brother, Jem Finch. Jem was a brave boy. He was brave enough to stand up
and do the things he had to, even if they scared him. An example is when he had
to help cure Mrs. Dubose’s drug problem.
The following Monday Jem and I climbed the steep front steps to Mrs. Dubose’s
house…” “So, you brought that dirty little sister of yours, did you?” was her
greeting. Jem said quietly, “My sister isn’t dirty and I ain’t scared of you,”
although I noticed his knees shaking.
Jem Finch’s bravery had many ways of showing itself. He often got scared but he
didn’t want anyone (especially Scout) to know it. He would often do things even
if he really didn’t want to, because he was brave and proud. This pride was for
himself and his family.His father was very important to him; Jem thought it was
his dutyto stick up for his father when others in the town said thingsabout him.
“Jem,” he said, “are you responsible for this?” “Yes sir.” “Why’d you do it?”
Jem said softly, “She said you lawed for niggers and trash.”
Jems bravery was also evident in other character traits;emotions were a large
part of his life. Because Atticus was a lawyer, Jem often went to the court
room and noticed the variety ofstrong emotions that are invoked by the pressure
and atmosphere ofthe courtroom. Jems bravery makes him conscious of his
emotionsand he doesn’t always want others to know how he feels. Scoutknows that
he always waits until he thinks it is the right time toreveal his emotions.
“I can get the janitor to let you in…Scout?” “Hm?” “Nothing.” Jem hadn’t
started like that in a long time.
Just as the plot is very complex and can’t be described in one sentence, so are
the characters. A main character like Jem Finchis very complex and it would be
impossible to elaborate on all ofhis traits in just one page. Jems bravery is
evident in hislifestyle, his pride, and his emotions. The Brave Jem Finch