Compare and Contrast Essay: Levi vs Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird

There is nothing like the excitement of meeting new characters in a book. Readers get to know new people and understand their motivations. Readers find a character to relate to. In To Kill Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the characters are highly relatable because they face many societal disputes that are still faced today. The novel depicts a family, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and his two children Jem and Scout, in the 1930s South, Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl. During the trial, there are many racial issues addressed. Jem and Scout and their friend, Dill, explore their theories on their recluse neighbor Boo Radley throughout the story also. Jem is a young tween boy who is active, and aides Scout on her journey to higher maturity. Jem also develops too during the novel, he grows up along with Scout. Learning about Jem and his character sparks thoughts of possible similarities to people in real life. A young tween boy in real life that is highly alike to Jem, is Levi O’Neil, my brother. Levi and Jem share many similarities, including learning abilities and family lifestyles, but even with their similarities, there are many differences.

Jem’s intelligence develops tremendously over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird. Although Jems' acumen is not given to the reader forthright in the text, it is described through his actions. Being the son of a lawyer exposes Jem to affairs that are immensely mature for his age. Jem comprehends the situations he is exposed to at an incredibly high level for his age. One event that depicts this is when Atticus was confronted by a mob at the county jail, Jem, Scout, and Dill follow him to the jail and jump to Atticus’s defense when the mob arrives. Jem refuses to leave when Atticus asks the children to leave because he knows the mob has violent intentions, they were going to hurt someone, possibly his father (Lee 154). Another time when Jem displayed brilliance was at the beginning of the novel, it was explained that he understood the Ewell’s were not the only issue in Maycomb (Lee 3), in reference to the negative racial insight into the community. This means that Jem was able to see that there are many parts of a problem, and one person is never the entire issue. Knowing this demonstrates that Jem can look at the bigger picture and step into someone else’s shoes to understand how they see things, and why they may act the way they do, this takes intelligence to do.

Jem may be intelligent, but Levi O’Neil is just as so. Levi’s family is extremely complicated. Levi’s sister and older brother are adopted, his parents have recently gotten divorced, and he has a new person living in his house. Even though Levi’s emotions about the divorce are complicated, he works through them to see the facts. Understanding the fact that sometimes people must see through their feelings, so they can think critically and understand the facts, not let their emotions control them, is a difficult lesson to master. Yet, Levi has almost mastered this skill. This demonstrates intelligence, not just cerebral, but emotional. Learning new skills takes elbow grease. Levi has recently started learning how to play the saxophone. Although Levi has not mastered saxophone, he is well on his way. He has been persistent in practicing and improving his art. Working towards goals can be quite difficult, but persistence depicts that he knows that if he works hard enough and does not give up, he can reach his goals. Although many know this fact, a minuscule population, including Levi, utilizes this knowledge. This shows brilliance put into action. Akin to how Jem uses his intelligence in practical situations to problem-solve and think critically.

Family is important to any person, especially Jem Finch, he would do anything for his family, even risk his life. Jem’s household consists of his father Atticus, his sister Scout, his caretaker Calpurnia, and his Aunt Alexandra, who stays with Jem and his family for a good portion of the novel. Jem’s sister Scout is younger than him, which gives Jem a reason to act mature because he wants Scout to look up to him, as any older sibling wants (Lee 3). Jem’s family is extremely tight-knit, Atticus is involved in his children’s lives and Scout and Jem get along decently well, better than most siblings do (Lee 6). Atticus tries to be as involved in his children’s lives as possible, but it is exceedingly difficult due to his profession, he is a lawyer, works long hours, and is often tired. These aspects make it difficult for Atticus being like typical fathers in Maycomb, involved and active (Lee 92).

Levi’s family dynamic and lifestyle are highly similar to Jem’s. His household contains his mother, Tiffany, his stepfather, William, his older brother Zachary, his sister Zoey, and his little sister Leila. Levi has a tight-knit family, each member knows plenty about other members’ lives, a little too much at times. Even knowing this, Levi’s family cannot hold a candle to the level of involvement Jem’s family is at. Having a younger sister gives Levi an opportunity to mature and influence his sister positively, he is a role- model for Leila. This is uncanny to the dynamic between Jem and Scout. Levi’s biological father, Ron, is not incredibly involved in his children’s lives, unlike Atticus, Ron is unemployed. Also, different from Atticus, Ron chooses to not be involved in his children’s lives, he is not bound in the chains of employment.

Although there are many differences, Jem Finch and Levi O’Neil are highly similar due to their learning abilities and family lifestyles. Any character can be related to someone in real life. Human psychology enables people to be able to relate to others, even if that person is not real. With every similarity spouted off there is always going to be a difference to counter. Characters are characters, they aren’t real, the majority of the time, meaning that no person will be a replica of a character. But even with the differences, similarities will always draw people to relate with others, may those others be characters or people in real life.