Innocence in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Book Analysis)

Innocence must be sacrificed in order to grow and mature from ignorance. In an idealistic world, one should be able to be knowledgeable and tranquil; though, the world that exists today and 100 years ago is too corrupt. Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, there are multiple characters that demonstrate how innocence can flourish into something beautiful, or how it can expire at a young age. Standing side-by-side with the main character Scout, her older brother Jem shows his coming of age through their life experiences as he develops a sense of bravery and intelligence. Whether he is going on a youthful adventure with his sister or acquiring wisdom from his father, Atticus, the reader can see Jem evolve and grow his awareness of the society around him. Harper Lee does an excellent job at portraying a child's maturity develope from complicated and unfortunate situations. As early as 12 years old Jem shows a yearning to be respected, but doesn’t quite grasp what it means to be mature until after the events of an unprincipled court case, where he gains more perspective on how people function in society.

From the first pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem's relationship exists in harmony; they abide by each other with few quarrels and act as equals. Chapter 12 is when Jem has a shift in his personality. Opening part II, Jem turns 12 and Scout notices that he is more temperamental and overbearing. Although it is expected to see younger boys go through this phase as they develop, his character demonstrates burgeoning views. Despite Jem’s cold-open in Part II, Harper Lee already reveals that Jem has innocent yet virtuous morals in pages prior. In chapter 3 when Scout lands herself in a fight with Walter Cunningham, a poor farmer who is a classmate of Scouts, Jem adamantly ends the dispute and invites Walter over for lunch. His actions in the schoolyard that day reveal his advanced understanding of treating others with respect and kindness, yet on the way home Jem brags to Walter saying, “‘I went all the way up to the house once,’” (31).  He is referring to the Radley house that sits at the end of their street, and this quote from Jem demonstrates  . Going into Chapter 12, Jem is still very ignorant and has a know-it-all attitude. He doesn’t fully understand how to process his emotions, view things from different perspectives, and lacks a basic understanding of society. The first change reader sees in Jem isn’t necessarily positive: “After one altercation, Jem hollered, ‘It’s time you start bein’ a girl and acting right!’” (153). Growing up as a tomboy, Scout has heard many times how she should act more ladylike, but she has always been able to confide in her brother. Jem’s comment reflects how he is being influenced by society and what he believes is right. His desire to grow up at this ignorant age, doesn’t always reflect the things Atticus has taught him, simply because he is still learning about the roles in society and discovering his morals.

The first time Jem truly struggles in attempting to understand the community in Maycomb County, is his father’s court case with Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of rape. Prior to this chapter, Jem has been able to get by in his day to day life sheltered from the evils of society. He was occasionally exposed to the real world, for example, during the chapters leading up to the trial, Jem grew increasingly worried for his father because he started understanding the weight of the subject. One night he, Scout, and Dill, a summer friend, followed Atticus to a jailhouse, where Atticus would soon be met with an angry mob of white men looking for Tom Robinson. Jem dove into action and did his best to protect his father. Jem’s actions confirm a new sense of bravery that was originally defined by being able to touch the Radley House, and now defined by sacrificing your own safety to help someone you love. Throughout the case, Jem communicates his knowledge on what is happening to Scout and Dill. Jem shows that his confidence in his father is unwavering: “He was pounding the balcony rail softly, and once he whispered, ‘We got him.’” (238). In the beginning of the book, Jem thought his father was boring and didn’t do anything, but now Jem feels pride and confidence in his father showing he has a deeper understanding of what it means to be a true gentleman. Jem is distraught when he hears Tom is pronounced guilty. He doesn’t know how to handle this because he knows it is morally and factually wrong.

By the end of the book, Jem has a new found sense of perspective and wisdom. He can see things with a deeper understanding and knows that not everything in life makes sense or is fair. Because Scout is younger than Jem there are still things she doesn’t notice or comprehend in society. In chapter 25 Jem directs Scout not to kill a roly poly bug that crept in the house: “He was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world… ‘Because they don’t bother you,’ Jem answered…,” (320). In this scene the Jem’s character is tying back to the mockingbird lesson Atticus had taught Scout. After Scout received a gun as a present for Christmas, she was informed that “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” because they never do any harm to anyone. Essentially Jem is saying the same thing because he finally understands the different roles in society. How Jem processed the trial of Tom Robinson, was his way of understanding the ins and outs of Maycomb. He was bewildered by the end of it and felt hurt that something like that could happen. He couldn't even grasp the meaning of it for a while until he finally had to move on from it. In a quick exchange between Scout Jem tell her, “‘I never wanta hear about the courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me?...’” (331).