Natalie Madden Chapter 12-13 page 153- 179. Free Response Post: How has Jem changed in these chapters?
Jem grows older throughout the book and in these pages, in particular, the other characters are starting to notice. Jem is now twelve years old and Scout thinks that Jem is, “Difficult to live with, inconsistent, and moody.” (Lee 153) Scout doesn't understand that he is not as young as he used to be. Earlier in the book Jem constantly tells Scout that she is a girl in an offensive manner. Now Jem tells Scout, “It’s time you start bein’ a girl and acting right!” (Lee 153) Scout then runs to Calpurnia and starts crying. Calpurnia is also noticing changes in Jem and starts calling him Mister Jem. Jem is growing wiser. For example he starts to read the newspaper and talking more proper. Aunt Alexandra comes to visit and brings heavy bags. She orders Calpurnia to bring them to her room, but then Jem offers to bring the heavy bags to her room like a true gentleman. Throughout the book Jem is growing up and starts to change in different ways.
Who else is noticing that Jem is maturing?
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ReplyDeleteThis change in Jem is hard on Scout due to the fact that throughout her life there has been a lack of change. Scout doesn't experience a lot of change because, "New people so rarely settled there, the same families married the same families..."(Lee 174-175). So Scout is used to history within her communitiy repeating itself which also means little change. But as Jem grows older and starts to change into more of a gentleman this catches Scout off guard because of the a shortage of change in her life.
ReplyDeleteJem is changing quickly throughout the book. Scout on the other hand is still her young naive self we saw at the beginning of the book. In the early chapters, Jem was Scout's best friend. When school started, they started to split apart. Jem said that "during school hours I was not to bother him..."(Lee 20). After that, Jem became more mature without Scout talking to him almost every second of the day. He became more knowledgable about the Radleys. During the fire, Jem knew that it was Boo that put the blanket on Scout which shows that he knows that Boo is kind and not the "squirrel eater" everyone else thinks he is. Jem has learned much throughout the first 13 chapters, and he will continue to mature as the book goes on.
ReplyDeleteJem is experiencing what could be called "growing pains," starting from much earlier in the book, possibly as far back as the summer when he and Dill begin to alienate Scout, on purpose or otherwise. The most clear indication of Jem's changes which I agree are made quite clearly present to us, is at the beginning of chapter twelve, "Jem was twelve. He was difficult to live with. Inconsistent. Moody." (Lee, 131). All of us were twelve last year, and can remember the difference between that year and years previous. Jem also showed cool-headedness in the fire of Miss Maudie's house, when he made sure to stand with Scout and watch her, making sure that she was alright. He was sufficiently responsible in the eyes of Atticus that he could leave them on their own later in the book, with only Calpurnia to look after them. He trusted Jem, and to a lesser extent Scout, to by and large look after themselves.
ReplyDeleteThroughout chapters fourteen and sixteen, Jem starts showing different signs that he is growing up and becoming more like a man. Near the beginning of chapter fourteen, Jem makes a big decision showing Scout and Dill who he really wants to become. "Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood" (Lee, 178). Jem goes on to find Atticus and tell him what happened to Dill. The quote proves that Jem wants to grow up and choose the responsible choice by involving an adult, instead of keeping it a secret and following Dill's wishes. Jem made the decision to try and grow up even if it meant losing his friend's trust.
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