As do many older siblings, Jem has a great deal of influence on his younger sister. Early in the novel, Scout notes that "Dill had been studied and found acceptable" by Jem. This influences Scout to accept Dill as well. This friendship, along with Dill's fascination with Boo Radley, sets the events of the novel in motion. Jem also influences Scout when she first complains about her teacher, Miss Caroline. Jem explains to Scout that Miss Caroline has a new way of teaching, and Scout listens. She sees no reason to question "Jem's pronouncements." Jem also attempts to influence Scout in how she deals with problems. He stops her from beating up young Walter Cunningham, and tells Scout not to provoke their Aunt Alexandra. Jem also influences Scout with the new game that the children play in which they act out various scenes regarding Boo Radley. When Jem and Dill decide to peek in the Radleys' window, Jem influences Scout by telling her she's "gettin’ more like a girl every day!" His comment pushes her to participate in their adventure.
Jem influences Scout in many ways in To Kill a Mockingbird. As the younger sibling and a girl, she wants to keep up with her big brother; we see Jem's influence in the tomboy Scout is (including the overalls she wears) as well as in the risks she is willing to take. It's because of Jem that Scout ends up rolling toward the frightening Radley house in the tire (and hearing laughter--a sign that Boo is watching them and is not as mean as rumor would suggest). Later, as the trial commences, both children are curious, but without Jem's explanations of what is taking place and his insistence on going to see the trial, Scout would probably not go and would not be telling us the story through her childlike eyes.
In many ways, Scout's take on the story is a balance between Atticus' goodness and positive view of the world and the bitterness that Jem feels when the verdict is read. Because Jem is old enough to understand the law more than Scout can, but not old enough to grasp the racism that leads the jury to find the innocent Tom Robinson guilty, he is crushed at the "guilty" verdict. Atticus, however, sees goodness and small progress in the fact that the jury stays out for two hours and that one of the Cunninghams is, in fact, a holdout. Scout, in telling us the story, presents a realistic view that lies somewhere between these two.
Jem probably influences Scout in a number of ways in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. He is her older brother and thus models behavior for her on a daily basis.
The example that first comes to my mind shows Scout picking up and using Jem's vocabulary. He repeatedly comments on how she's acting like a girl when he want to criticize her for being cowardly or complaining. Scout clearly takes this comment...
See This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
to heart, and she tells Jem at least once, when it's her turn to be angry at him, that he's acting like a girl.
How does Jem impact Scout in the book To Kill a Mockingbird?
How does Jem impact Scout. This is a very big question. As her big brother, Jem is Scout’s “hero.” Again and again we see Scout wanting to be as “tough” as he is. When playing with him and Dill, Scout wants to be “one of the guys.” All Jem has to do is call Scout “Miss Priss,” and Scout is ready to do whatever her brother wants. Several times we hear Jem tell Scout “not to act like a girl.” She thinks he knows just about everything, as we see, for example, when she is sure that Boo Radley was stuffed up the chimney by his father “because Jem” said so (43). He also gives her possible interpretations of life that she can accept or reject, such as when he concludes (after the trial) that Boo doesn’t come out of his house because he doesn’t particularly like the world outside. And then, of course, Jem tries to save the life of his sister when she is attacked at the end of the novel.
What does Jem do in the book To Kill a Mockingbird?
The previous answer does a great job in mentioning many of things that Jem does. So, I won't repeat the same points. Instead, I will add two more points.
First, Jem shows the reader the proper response to injustice. The text says that Jem weeps with tears of anger. He also says, "it is not right." By saying these simple words, he shows us that what happened to Tom Robinson is not right. Here is a powerful excerpt:
“It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting.”
Second, Jem shows what true courage is. One of the lessons that Atticus tries to teach Jem is about courage. Jem must have learned this lesson well. When Bob Ewell attacks Scout, Jem is there to defend her. He risks his own life and he might have been killed without the help of Boo. Therefore, Jem emerges as a brave young man. He matures and becomes the man that his father wanted him to become.
Does Jem help Scout learn anything important in To Kill a Mockingbird?
To Kill a Mockingbird has several themes which are developed through several story lines. On one level, To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of a little girl growing up in Alabama during the Great Depression. She spends most of her time, when not in school, with her older brother, Jem, who is often explaining to her how things are, as older siblings tend to do. And, as younger siblings tend to do, Scout is not wildly impressed with Jem's expertise on the issues of the day. Since the story is told in Scout's first person point of view, we see changes in Jem's character through her eyes. Scout is particularly annoyed when Jem enters the phase of life that we would probably describe as puberty; he becomes moody and irritable, and Scout is not pleased about it. "Reckon he's got a tapeworm?" she asks Atticus at one point while expressing her displeasure. Despite Jem's attempts, Scout probably learns more from her Aunt Alexandra, who she (Scout) also regards as a questionable source of information for quite awhile. We see how Scout has changed, however, toward the end of the book when she is serving tea and behaving like a lady after Atticus shares with Alexandra, Maudie, and Scout the devastating news of Tom Robinson's death. She has learned the importance of maintaining one's social manners and graces, important virtues of Southern womanhood that Alexandra apparently had taught her after all.
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, how does the trial affect Jem and Scout?
Scout's narrative reveals far less about her own opinions of the Tom Robinson trial, and especially the aftermath, than it does about Jem's. Scout seems to be more upset before the trial begins, using her fists to retaliate when she and Atticus are called "nigger-lover" by her antagonistic friends. Although much of the trial is over her head (she has to have the term "nigger-lover" and the definition of "rape" explained to her), she does manage to recognize that Tom's crippled left arm could not have possibly inflicted the damage done to Mayella Ewell, and she sees that Tom is innocent of the charges--something the adult jury could not admit. At Aunt Alexandra's church tea, Scout wishes she were the governor of Alabama so she could
... let Tom Robinson go so quick the Missionary Circle wouldn't have time to catch it's breath.
Jem is more affected by the verdict. He sees the injustice in Tom's conviction as well as the dishonesty of the jury. He sympathizes with Tom, and he feels his father has been deserted by the townspeople that he serves--standing alone among the people Jem once thought were "the best folks in the world." Every little thing affects him for a while, from Scout's near-squashing of a doodlebug to her mere mention of the courthouse. Through his tears he tries to make sense of the verdict, but he can only repeat
"It ain't right, Atticus... How could they do it, how could they?"