In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem shows courage every day to his sibling and friends and other townspeople. Lee tries to show that courage can be defined in many different ways, and that courage doesn’t have to mean that a person is brave, although it can be someone who is brave. Through Jem Lee can show what courage can really means, by Jem’s actions and by how he is seeing about the world around him. Jem Protects his sister and Dill constantly, and he learned to do that from Atticus and now he is teaching Scout and Dill how to act.
He will respect adults, yet when he is in danger with another adult he will do whatever it takes to protect his family. In the novel, courage is when someone is willing to do anything to help someone else out. It is when you are fearless and strong, you will stand up for what is right and what you believe. Jem shows courage when he returns to the Radley house to get his pants, when he escorts his sister home from the school play, when he stood up for Atticus at the jail house. Harper Lee shows these courageous actions to make her novel entertaining.
Jem exemplifies courage when on the night he went on an adventure with Scout and Dill. They went to the Radley’s house to see if there was anything special about it and when they were inspecting the house one of the Radleys came out with a gun. In this moment of panic Jem made sure that Scout and Dill got out safe before he did. Then he went back to the same place of peril to retrieve his pants. In this moment of horror when someone had a gun, Jem made sure that Scout and Dill got out safe before he did. Then he went back to the same place of peril to retrieve his pants which shows courage.
This can display that Jem had courage because he was being brave and was fearless because he was going back to a place where a tragedy to make sure that he didn’t make Atticus mad. Lee writes on page 74″ I’m goin’ after ’em’ he said. I sat upright ‘You can’t. I won’t let you’ He was struggling into his shirt. ‘I’ve got to’. ‘You do an’ I’ll wake up Atticus”. This quote is showing that Jem is courages and that he is brave. By going back to get his pants this is making Harper Lee’s novel more entertaining, it is adding more adventure and thrill because this is putting Jem’s life in danger.
So by adding this to the chapter it is making the readers form predictions of what will happen and make them want to read on. If Jem just left his pants at the Radley’s house then there wouldn’t be any thing to worry about- it would make the chapter seem boring and uneventful. In this novel Jem can show what courage means to the Finch’s and him. One night Atticus had asked him to escort Scout to the school play – and he did so. But on the way home someone was following them, and during this event Jem kept making sure that Scout was still safe.
On Jem and Scouts way home from the school play, someone was chasing them and got ahold of Scout. With bravery, Jem grabbed the person off of Scout. After Jem threw this person off of Scout, the person was infuriated with Jem, they grabbed him and threw him. On page 351 Lee writes” Run, Scout! Run! Run! Jem screamed… Someone rolled against me and I felt Jem. He was up like lightning and pulling me with him but, though my head and my shoulders were free, I was so entangled we didn’t get very far.
In this quote they are walking home from the School play and someone was following them. Scout and Jem kept walking and this person kept getting closer and closer. Until finally this person had ahold of Scout. During this event Jem kept trying to help his sister as much as he could but this was not an easy task. This quote is showing that Jem exemplifies courage, and bravery because he was taking his sister’s life into consideration before he took his own. This is showing bravery because this was a risky situation and he did everything he could to help his sister.
If this courages event was not included in the book then it wouldn’t be as interesting. By including this event it is adding more things for the reader to worry about and more reasons for the reader to want to read on. Jem can present courage in his everyday life to others because he stands up for others and what he believes is right. One night Atticus had gone out to town and the children had followed. They ended up at the Jail house and just when they had arrived so did a lynch mob after Tom Robinson. And they were talking to Atticus and saying bad things.
Atticus then told the kids to go home but instead the kids stayed and defended Atticus. In chapter 15 on page 203 Lee writes ” Go home Jem” he said. ‘ Take Scout and Dill home. ‘ We were acquiescence to Atticus’s instructions, but from the way he stood Jem was not thinking of budging. ‘Go home, I said. ” In chapter 15 Atticus is at town and he is surrounded by a lynch mob but then the kids come and when Atticus asks them to leave they don’t. Then the kids end up scaring away the mob. This is showing that Jem- and the kids have courage.
With bravery and integrity, the kids stood up for what they thought was right. This was not a safe thing to do because the lynch mob wants to kill Tom Robinson and now the kids are in the way of that. This is adding to the thrill and mystery of the novel because this could become a very bad outcome is the kids are not careful. This is keeping the reader interested. Courage is when you are willing to help others and improve yourself along the way. Also you stand up for what is right. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Jem is a character that shows what courage really is.
In the novel, Jem goes on an adventure with his friends. Him and his friends must flee because someone is shooting at them. Then Jem loses his pants, and once he gets home he goes back to the the scene to get his pants. To add to that he helps his dad take care of his younger sister Scout. His dad needed him to take his sister to the school play. And on the way home they got attacked but Jem tried to take care of Scout even when someone was grabbing him. In chapter 15 the kids follow Atticus to the town’s Jail house where a lynch mob appears.
Then they start talking nasty to Attics but Jem stood up for Atticus. This could get him hurt but he is doing what he thought was right. After reading this novel I can now have a different definition of what courage really is and that everyone has courage, yet only some know how to display it to others. I think” To Kill a Mockingbird” has many different morals but the ones that show the most to me are that courage is something that you should learn to use, and that everyone has more to their life then what you can see on the outside.
