at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem's fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. (ch 1)

This information tells us quite a bit about Jem.  First of all, we know that he is not self-conscious.  He is an athlete.  He takes things in stride, meaning he does not get easily put off track by things.

Jem is four years older than Scout.  This means that while he is a playmate, he often serves a parental role too.  Scout sometimes resents being compared to Jem, so we know he is well-behaved.  For example, Calpurnia seems to favor Jem.

She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn't behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn't ready to come. (ch 1)

Yet we also learn that Jem is not always a perfect angel.  He can be disobedient, such as in playing the Radley game when Atticus has told them not to.

For example, Jem gets angry and destroys Mrs. Dubose’s flowers when she continually insults them about their father.

He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves. (ch 11)

This is an example of how Jem’s laid-back nature has its limits.

Jem also shows signs of courage and integrity.  When he loses his pants on Boo Radley’s porch, he returns to get them.

When he shows 'em to Atticus it'll be pretty bad, that's all there is to it. Go'n back to bed."

"That's what I know," said Jem. "That's why I'm goin' after 'em." (ch 6)

Scout is sure he’ll be shot, but Jem shows bravery and goes anyway.  He is more concerned with making sure that Atticus trusts and respects him than the physical danger.  This shows that Jem is maturing.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem changes in two ways in Chapter Four. First of all, he starts to become more protective of Scout. She gets home a half hour before he does. One day, running home, Scout notices something in the hole of a tree: it is a stick of gum, which she promptly puts in her mouth. When Jem arrives home and finds what she has done, he makes her spit the gum out, and gargle, threatening to tell if she doesn't comply—which she does.

Jem is also becoming more concerned about how he looks in the eyes of his peers. When Dill comes to Maycomb for the summer, the talk of "Hot Steams" arises (which is a old superstition about a fog that will kill you if you walk through it). Scout makes fun of the idea which embarrasses Jem. Soon, he takes his revenge by hurling the tire in which Scout is curled up (a game they play) as hard as possible.

Until it happened, I did not realize that Jem was offended by my contradicting him on Hot Steams, and that he was patiently awaiting an opportunity to reward me. He did, by pushing th tire down the sidewalk with all the force in his body.

However, even though Jem is angry with Scout, he still demonstrates concern for her safety when the tire rolls into the Radley yard. He screams and hollers for her to get out. When she does, he is mad that she did not bring the tire so she tells him to get it himself. He is fearful, but doesn't want to look like a coward, so he does.

In order to keep up the facade of his fearlessness of the Radleys, Jem suggests that they play a new game called "The Radleys" where they reenact the lives of the Radley family based on snippets of gossip and their imaginations.

Jem is becoming more mature in his protection of Scout, but he is also more concerned about how he appears to his peers, wanting to seem grown-up and fearless.

One of the main ways in which Jem changes in Chapter Four of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is that he begins to be aware of the possibility that Arthur "Boo" Radley might not be all bad; Jem's openness to the chance that Boo might possess good qualities starts to develop in this chapter.  The idea that Boo might be leaving the presents in the knothole in the tree also presents itself in a small way.

When Scout reveals to Jem the location of the knothole in which she found the gum, which Jem berated her for chewing due to the possibility of its being deadly, the two children find

...a small box patchworked with bits of tinfoil collected from chewing-gum wrappers.  It was the kind of box wedding rings came in, purple velvet with a minute catch.  Jem flicked open the tiny catch.  Inside were two scrubbed and polished pennies, one on top of the other.  Jem examined them.

"Indian-heads," he said.  "Nineteen-six and Scout, one of 'em's nineteen-hundred.  These are real old."

Jem recognizes what he considers to be inherent value in the coins and believes that they are worth much more than their face value.  He informs Scout that he will put the pennies away in his trunk and tries to explain why.

"Well, Indian-heads--well, they come from the Indians.  They're real strong magic, they make you have good luck.  Not like fried chicken when you're not lookin' for it, but things like long life 'n' good health, 'n' passin' six-weeks test...these are real valuable to somebody..."

Because Jem pauses to look at the Radley's house for a long time, we know that he is contemplating the possibility that Boo Radley provided the gum and pennies.  If that is true, Boo is kind and generous enough to want Jem and Scout to have good luck, among other things, which indicates that Boo cannot be the monster that they have imagined him to be.

It is the last day of Dill's stay in Maycomb for the summer, and he and Jem plan one more attempt at getting a peek at Boo Radley. The children's innocent raid on the Radley's back porch turns dangerous, however, when first a shadow appears above Jem. Jem covers his head and "went rigid," expecting the worse, but the shadow--almost certainly that of Boo--passes by and the children run for their lives. A shotgun blast signals that the children have been discovered, and when Jem becomes trapped on the Radley fence, he is forced to remove his pants. The children are forced to lie to Atticus about why Jem is wandering the neighborhood in his underwear--Dill quickly comes up with the idea of strip poker--and they go to bed safely assuming that Atticus does not know the true story. But Jem's conscience is bothering him, and he decides to return for the lost pants. He does not want to risk being punished by his father--

"Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way."  (Chapter 6)

but he is more ashamed at having deceived Atticus and possibly losing his trust. Jem returns safely with the pants, and it will be his last foray onto the Radley property in search of Boo. But there is a secret that he withholds from Scout, waiting a week before telling her: His pants were waiting for him, folded and mended, on the Radley fence. Jem does not say it out loud, but he knows that it is Boo who left them that way--a friendly gesture from the man who has been leaving them the gifts in the tree.

Because it is Dill's last night in town, Jem and Dill and Scout decide to go and try to look in the window of the Radley place to see if they can see anything. While they are in the act, a shadow moves and shots ring out and the kids flee in a panic. Jem's trousers get hung up and he races home without them.

When Jem and Dill have to lie in front of the adults, they face a new kind of fear about losing the trust and respect of those they love and respect. Jem and Scout also have to fear the gunshots they faced earlier when they return to get Jem's pants.

With his actions, Jem shows how important the respect of Atticus is in his life. He demonstrates this because he is willing to lie and face real danger in order to maintain his trust. As Scout points out, after this night she realizes that Jem is becoming an adult and their relationship will never be quite the same.

In these chapters, Jem is showing that he is entering into adolescence. As he leaves childhood behind, he grows more and more distant from Scout and her concerns. He is at an awkward stage where he is a child but beginning to think more like an adult and to perceive himself as much older than Scout. Rather than treating Scout as a peer, as he (sort of) used to do, he now takes on a superior attitude and tries to tell her what to do.

Scout goes to Atticus about this, wondering if Jem has picked up a tapeworm. Atticus tells her that's not the case and that

I must be patient with him and disturb him as little as possible.

Scout is also startled that Calpurnia starts to refer to Jem as Mister Jem. When Scout registers surprise, Calpurnia responds mater-of-factly.

“Baby,” said Calpurnia, “I just can’t help it if Mister Jem’s growin‘ up. He’s gonna want to be off to himself a lot now, doin’ whatever boys do, so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome."

Complicating Jem's maturation process is the Tom Robinson trial, the injustice of which the budding adolescent feels acutely as he tries to discover what it is to be an adult.

Jem is characterized as reflective and sensitive as he is growing up in this chapter.

In this chapter, we see Jem as a young man who is trying to understand the world. Much of the chapter is about Jem and his reaction to recent events. Jem is coming of age, and facing racism and the fact that the world is not fair.

Jem reacts to Bob Ewell’s spitting in Atticus’s face. He is frightened, thinking that this was not all Ewell was going to do. This shows Jem is still sensitive. 

Jem is also still upset about the verdict in the Tom Robinson case. He was convinced that Robinson would be acquitted because Atticus proved that no crime was committed and Mayella’s injuries were most likely caused by her father.

Jem was sprawled on the sofa reading Popular Mechanics. He looked up. “It ain’t right. He didn’t kill anybody even if he was guilty. He didn’t take anybody’s life” (Chapter 23).

Jem reflects on circumstantial evidence and the rape statute, which makes rape a capital offense. He is trying to find a way to make everything that happened make sense to him, and to feel that justice has been done. He doesn’t feel that Robinson should have been convicted.

Atticus tells Jem that there is nothing wrong with making rape a capital offense and many people are convicted on circumstantial evidence alone. When Jem says maybe they should just get rid of juries, he is again trying to rationalize what happened and blame someone. In Jem’s mind, it was the jury’s fault.

When Atticus tells him Mr. Cunningham did not agree with the verdict, Jem is again confused.

“Golly Moses,” Jem said reverently. “One minute they’re tryin‘ to kill him and the next they’re tryin’ to turn him loose… I’ll never understand those folks as long as I live” (Chapter 23).

This shows Atticus has managed to change the minds of some of the people of Maycomb. Atticus tells Jem that he will understand as he gets older. Atticus came very close to getting a hung jury.

More proof of Jem's growing up is when he shows Scout that he is getting hair under his arms and on his chest.  Jem is proud of his maturity, and he wants to share the changes in his body with his sister. The two of them are still close, even as he is maturing while she is still young.

Jem matures into a young man who cares about other people and no longer fears neighborhood monsters.

At the beginning of the book, Jem is still very much a child.  He enjoys playing make-believe games with his Scout and Dill. He fears Boo Radley. He is a sensitive and intelligent boy, but, at age ten, he is still a boy.

Like Scout, Jem has to grow up during the Tom Robinson trial. He struggles to find himself and his place in the world. For example, when Jem runs away from the Radley house and loses his pants, he does not want to tell Atticus where they are. He is not afraid of being punished, worrying instead that Atticus will think badly of him. 

Jem develops empathy for Boo Radley before Scout does.  He realizes Boo put the blanket on Scout’s shoulders during the fire and mended his pants for him. Jem pleads with Atticus not to tell anyone, as he does not want Boo to get in trouble, as evident in this quote from Chpater 8:

Mr. Nathan put cement in that tree, Atticus, an‘ he did it to stop us findin’ things—he’s crazy, I reckon, like they say, but Atticus, I swear to God he ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t ever hurt us, he coulda cut my throat from ear to ear that night but he tried to mend my pants instead… he ain’t ever hurt us, Atticus.

During the trial, Jem feels very involved in the process. He is old enough to follow the proceedings, but still naïve enough to think Tom Robinson will be acquitted. Jem follows the evidence, not the way people actually think. He feels cheated when Robinson is convicted. This is the first time he really understands racism. 

Scout and Jem begin to grow apart as Jem enters junior high. He eats a lot, is moody, and shows her new places on his body where hair is growing. He also tries to make Scout mind him, and Atticus says she has to when he can make her. 

When Jem is attacked by Bob Ewell and breaks his arm at the end of the book, all Jem cares about is that he can still play football. Jem wanted Atticus to stand up to Bob Ewell, and did not understand why he would not carry a gun. That was just Atticus’s way. At the end of the novel, Jem is twelve-years-old, almost a teenager.

At the beginning of the story, Jem is a naive, enthusiastic child with a wild imagination. He subscribes to the unflattering rumors and legends surrounding Boo Radley and proceeds to give Scout a fanciful description of their reclusive neighbor. Jem becomes fascinated with Boo Radley and creates several schemes to communicate and get a look at him. He leads a raid into the Radley yard and attempts to leave a note on his window sill using a fishing pool. Jem also spends his leisure time playing the Boo Radley game with Dill and is perplexed when he begins finding small gifts in the knothole of the Radley tree.

As the novel progresses, Jem hits puberty and begins spending more time with Dill. He excludes Scout from most of their activities and begins arguing with his sister more often. Scout mentions that Jem develops a "madden superiority" complex and ends up getting into a physical altercation with him in chapter 14.

Towards the beginning of part two, Jem begins to mature and demonstrates courage and loyalty by refusing to leave his father's side when a lynch mob threatens Atticus. During the trial, Jem shows his immaturity and naivety by believing that Tom Robinson will be acquitted. Upon witnessing racial injustice firsthand, Jem loses his innocence, bursts into tears, and cannot believe that Tom was wrongly convicted.

Immediately following the Tom Robinson trial, Jem becomes jaded with his prejudiced community. However, he begins to mature and gains perspective on Maycomb and its justice system. He also develops into a more sympathetic, tolerant adolescent. Jem demonstrates his maturity and sensitivity by exercising patience with Scout. He instructs her not to kill a harmless roly-poly bug and agrees to walk her to the Halloween festival.

In chapter 28, Jem reveals his growth and maturation by comforting Scout after the pageant. Scout mentions,

He [Jem] said he couldn’t see my costume much from where he was sitting. How he could tell I was feeling bad under my costume I don’t know, but he said I did all right, I just came in a little late, that was all. Jem was becoming almost as good as Atticus at making you feel right when things went wrong. (262)

In addition to consoling Scout about her performance, Jem also attempts to protect her during Bob Ewell's vicious attack. Overall, Jem develops from an immature, naive adolescent into a sympathetic, selfless older brother who tries his best to comfort and protect Scout.

One point in the novel where we see a change in Jem is when Atticus shoots the rabid dog.  Scout immediately wants to go tell everyone about it, but Jem tells her not to.  He seems to come to some kind of understanding about Atticus during those moments.  He also makes a remark at that point about being a gentleman like Atticus.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem changes throughout the novel. First of all, Jem is a young boy who plays games with his sister Scout and Dill, a neighborhood friend. He is immature in the beginning, "allowing Scout to join in his games and even dignifying her with an occasional fistfight."

He is not as concerned about things. Jem does not appear to have the temper that Scout has. Jem seems laid back. 

As the story progresses, Jem grows up. Jem begins to only want to spend time with Dill. Jem out grows the desire to allow Scout to play. Jem and Dill go swimming without Scout. Scout feels left out, but Jem doesn't seem to care.

Also, as Jem matures, he becomes more concerned with the racism that his father is dealing with during the trial. During the trial, he sees hatred and bigotry in all its unfairness. Also, he loses his temper when Mrs. Dubose insults his father as they pass her house. Jem retaliates and beats all the buds from Mrs. Dubose's flower bushes:

As he approaches adolescence, however, Jem becomes quieter and more easily agitated: he reacts angrily when Mrs. Dubose leaves him a small peace offering after her death.

Also, Jem doesn't want to disappoint his father. "He is anxious to please his father, and hates to disappoint him." 

Jem is truly troubled by what is going on in Maycomb. He realizes that a man's life is being threatened because he is black. During the Tom Robinson trial, Jem realizes the injustice of a man not getting a fair trial because he is black. 

Jem has grown up to be more concerned for his family's safety. Jem also has to protect his sister when they are attacked by Bob Ewell. Jem stands up for his sister. Jem has grown into a fine young man who realizes some things are worth fighting for:

He demonstrates his own courage, however, when he protects his sister from the attack of Bob Ewell without regard for his own safety.

Still, he learns from his father that some battles are lost before one begins fighting, but still one must persevere and fight on. Hopefully, change will occur one day. 

No doubt, Jem changes during the course of the novel. He begins as a boy who plays games with Scout and Dill. By the end of the novel, he has grown into a adolescent who "has weathered turbulent times."

When Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird begins, Jem Finch is ten years old. Scout begins by mentioning the ending of the story for Jem who breaks his arm when he is thirteen. Although he sometimes teases and aggravates Scout, Jem becomes a good brother. He protects her, serves as one of her best friends, and in the end, saves her life. Many things impact Jem between that beginning sentence and the actual event.

The three years that are covered by the story are a transitional period for Jem as for any boy. He enters puberty and begins adolescence. That is enough in itself to be difficult without the life altering events that Jem experiences. The best gauge of Jem’s maturity comes from the development of his courage.

Initially, Jem loves to play the childhood games fun to all children. The children especially enjoy the fantastic creations about Boo Radley. Jem and Scout seem to understand Maycomb and its inhabitants, particularly Boo.

When Dill begins to come and visit during the summers, the children become obsessive about getting Boo to come outside. In the beginning, Jem’s bravery extends to touching the side of the Radley’s house and running.

As the story progresses, Jem begins to change. He becomes more pensive and quiet. Scout calls her brother moody. There is more to it than that because Jem acquires the qualities that will fill out his character when he becomes an adult. He feels compassion toward Boo. When the hole in the tree is blocked, Jem cries. He is able to see the bias and prejudice that fill the hearts and minds of some of the people in his town.

Finding his place in the adult world, Jem tries to teach Scout how to behave with Aunt Alexandra. When Dill runs away, Jem tells Atticus to prevent anything from happening. It is obvious that Jem wants to be as much like his father as possible.

One of the biggest changes in Jem issues forth from the trial of Tom Robinson. As Jem listens to the adult discussions of the trial, it is evident that Jem has the ability to understand the difficult issues that are involved in the legal case. He is astounded when the guilty verdict is given.

His [Jem’s] face was streaked with angry tears as we make our way through the cheerful crowd. “It aint’ right," he muttered all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting...

“It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem.

No son, it’s not right.” We walked home.

His admiration for his father grows as he understands that his father has the courage to stand up for what he believes. Miss Maudie understands the hurt that Jem feels after the trial is over and helps Jem when she gives him a piece of the adult cake.

Unknown to the children is the revenge that Bob Ewell has promised to extract from Atticus and his children. Atticus had embarrassed and practically accused Ewell of the crime for which Robinson had to pay.

The night of the pageant shows how courageous Jem has become. When he hears or feels that someone is following them, Jem worries about Scout. He protects her by fighting the shadowy figure with no concern for himself.

It is in this fight that Jem has his arm broken by Bob Ewell; however, he saves Scout from the initial attack by Bob. Of course, Boo saves the day by killing Ewell and carrying Jem home to his father.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel, with both Jem and Scout learning much through their experiences with Boo and through their father's defense of and the town's reaction to Tom Robinson. Jem also learns from his experiences reading to Mrs. Dubose, although that happens only after Atticus explains to him that he must not lose his temper in a violent way, that he must be kind to people who are not kind to him, and that the mean old lady whom he hated so much was in fact, as Atticus tells him quite clearly, a brave woman. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." Mrs. Dubose decided to cure herself of her drug addiction before she died, and did. similarly, Atticus knows he is doomed to lose in defending Tom, but he defends him anyway, facing overwhelming odds. It is the facing the impossible that makes him victorious. Through both the incident of a cantankerous old woman and his father's convictions concerning Tom, Jem learns what heroism and character mean.

Jem reaches one of his greatest moments of change after Mrs. Dubose's death in chapters 11 and 12 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

In Chapter 11, Jem is worn down by all the ridicule he faces for Atticus's decision to defend Tom Robinson. He is so worn down that he flies into a violent rage the moment Mrs. Dubose insults the children by saying, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Ch. 11). As punishment for his having whacked all the camellias off of the bushes in her garden, Jem is made to read to her daily. The night of her death, Atticus explains he would have asked Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose regardless because Atticus knew she had been working on ridding herself of her morphine addiction, developed due to her illness, before she passed away, and Atticus knew reading to her would distraction her from her withdrawal symptoms. Since Atticus had known she was working on ridding herself of her morphine addiction, regardless of how warranted morphine use was due to the pain she suffered, Atticus explains he saw Mrs. Dubose as a "great lady" because she was such a courageous woman. Atticus further explains he had wanted Jem to see that true courage is more than just being aggressive:

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. (Ch. 11)

After this lesson of what courage is and that to be a great lady is to be courageous, Jem begins changing a great deal. He especially changes in his treatment of Scout. Whereas before he used to insult her by calling her a girl, now he gets annoyed anytime she does something tomboyish and shouts at her, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right!" (Ch. 12). Jem's behavior towards others also becomes gentler, just like his father's behavior. For example, soon after Tom Robinson's trial and death, just as Scout is about to squash a roly-poly bug one night, Jem stops her, saying, "Don't do that, Scout. Set him out on the back steps," which Scout feels is uncharacteristic of Jem (Ch. 25). But, Jem's new behavior reflects all he has learned about courage and showing respect for others.