TKAM: Week of 12-15-14

Prompt: Describe the characters throughout the book and how they change.

Jem at the beginning is very close with Scout and still has that mentality of a child. Throughout the book you see him turn more into a young man or that's how he changes himself. At one point him and Dill exclude Scout because she is younger and is a girl. This is the first point where you see Jem's mindset change from this kid to a maturing teenager. His role model is Attics and Atticus is very calm, humble, and forgiving. Scout tends to get annoyed because Jem thinks he is too old to do some of the stuff Scout wants to do. Although Jem is getting older he still has parts of being a kid. After the ruling at the Tom Robinson trial he cried and although adults cry at times he cried because it was not fair. Adults understood that it was unfair but a kid takes it more emotionally.

Scout in the whole book is never much of a "lady" and this bothers most of the characters in the book. Whether it be from the language she uses but mostly the way she dresses. She wears overalls instead of dresses and this to me is her not losing her childhood. She does grow a little older at one point in the book where she is wearing a dress at a dinner Aunt Alexandra is hosting. When asked about her "britches" at that time she responded in saying "Under my dress." She doesn't let go of her childhood and shows that she thinks differently than the rest. You see her develop and begin to understand more but there isn't a point where she loses her childhood. You see the innocence that she thinks with. For me during the Tom Robinson trial you see how kids think differently. They may know about blacks being of lesser but in that case you see that they don't understand why and that they don't see "color" like adults would. At the end of the book she shows her knowledge and further understanding by saying "Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" This shows Atticus her understanding and that she has developed over time. 

The story of Boo Radley otherwise known as Arthur Radley is like a myth and you realize his real story is actually quite sad. All these myths are made about Boo because you have never seen him. His family isolates him from the rest of the world and yet he still make a connection to Jem and Scout. He sews Jems pants, gives them gifts, but most importantly saves their lives. He changes throughout the book through the role he plays in Jem and Scouts lives. Jem shows sympathy towards Boo when he realizes what they are doing to him. When you learn that Boo's brother plugged up the tree in which Boo gave the kids their presents he realizes he is being isolated. Boo saves the kids lives when Bob Ewell, the evil man of the neighborhood tries to kill Jem and Scout. Finally in the end you see Boo. You know its Boo because the entire description shows he doesn't get any sunlight because he is always locked up. Over the story you see he isn't this mean, and crazy person but rather a nice who protects and is misunderstood and isolated.