the carved soap figurines of Jem and Scout, they children are captured by the intent of the items—gifts left for them to find. This is not an understanding they have come to casually. First they believed the items were in someone's hiding place. When they tested out this theory and the items never left, they decided they might keep them for the person who left them until later. However, by the end of this "adventure," Jem and Scout feel they objects are gifts tothem: and, it's "finders-keepers" as far as they are concerned.

Jem and Scout are children who are still young enough to have a sense of wonder about the world. They have delightful (and wild) imaginations, as we see even before Dill arrives, as they act out books Jem has read. The world is a place of possibilities. However, when Mr. Radley cements the hole closed in the tree, we have a clear sense that he is not trying to save the tree, he is lying, and somehow it is connected to Boo. Although the children have never seen him and may even be a little frightened of him, the three of them are all connected, even so early in the novel.

On some level, I believe that Jem understands this. It is one of the first experiences with adults that he will have over the course of the story that will open his eyes to many truths about the world; and with each incident, there is a loss of innocence for Jem, who is several years older than Scout. We learn after Chapter Six and the near miss the kids experience at the Radley house, that Jem is maturing, and very much wants his father's respect: he doesn't want to get in trouble with Atticus because they snuck onto the Radley's property. However, with every brush a youngster of Jem's age has with the "real world," there is a price to pay: sometimes something positive comes of it, but not this time. Here, Jem is forced to see Mr. Radley's inhumanity to Boo, suspecting that he is somehow trying to cut Boo off from them. This is not to say Jem understands the reasons, but the result is clear enough.

Scout notices the impact the event has on Jem, who ironically reacts as he had tried to keep her from doing: he cries.

"Come on in, Jem" I said.

"After while."

He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him.

At the very least, Jem suspected that Arthur "Boo" Radley was the one leaving gifts in the hole in the knot hole in the tree.  In fact, considering that he seemed convinced that the gift giver was a "mister" or "sir," which was obvious when he and Scout wrote their letter of thanks to him, Jem was probably confident of his identity. 

Not only was the anticipation of discovering new gifts exciting, but it also revealed a kind, childlike nature found in Boo Radley, who was the giver.  Jem, who was sensitive to the feelings of others, found it heartbreaking that someone would have filled in the hole and taken that link to the outside world away from Boo; it was especially disheartening and upsetting to know that his own brother treated him so.  Jem must have felt that Boo had been treated cruelly enough by society, and specifically his own family, to have deserved the happiness of sharing things via the knot hole. The pain and frustration that Jem felt was compounded exponentially by the inability to thank the giver (Boo) for his kindness and generosity; Jem and Scout were unable to leave their letter for Boo, since the knot hole had already been filled with cement by the time they arrived with their envelope.

Jem's still young and naive. He believes that the people of Maycomb are the best in the world; he's sure that the members of the jury will see sense and let justice prevail. It's instructive that even a child who doesn't know much about the law and how it works knows that Tom Robinson's completely innocent of all charges. And this isn't simply because Jem's father is the lawyer defending Tom. Jem has seen and heard for himself just how flimsy the prosecution case really is. He knows that if the jury carefully examines all the relevant facts of the case and bases its decision on a rational evaluation of the evidence, then they will have no choice but to acquit Tom of all charges.

Of course, that doesn't happen. The members of the jury convicted Tom before they'd even set foot inside the courtroom. Justice has not prevailed; only prejudice. Now that Jem has witnessed at first hand the tragic effects of that prejudice he's become thoroughly disillusioned with the people of Maycomb. The guilty verdict has led directly to his loss of innocence.

Tom Robinson is a black accused of raping a white woman. In Maycomb, there is no way he will get a fair trial. Atticus knows this, but Jem still believes in justice. Throughout the entire trial, Jem believes that Tom will be found innocent. 

Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom was guilty. Jem is sitting in the balcony with the other black people, waiting for the jury to come back. Scout is there with him as well. When the jury comes back, the judge starts polling them. One after the other repeats "guilty". Jem is stunned. He slumps in his seat. He never thought Tom would be found guilty. He runs out of the courtroom and cries. 

What is interesting about his reaction, is that, it is the culmination of everything Jem believed to be true, and he is now finding out they are not true. In a way, Jem has lost a very important innocence of his childhood. He will never again look at his town the same way. He won't ever think of his neighbor's in the same way either. Jem was so sure his father was going to win. Jem now has lost the gift of ignorance about social issues. Atticus wanted so badly to protect his children from the ugliness this trial was going to bring. In the end, however, he is unable to do this. Jem and Scout have forever been changed and shaped by these unfortunate events. Harper Lee had such a way of showing us how ugly people can truly be.

One of the prominent themes of Harper Lee’s book is centered around the “coming of age” scenario. Jem is on the breaking point in his loss of innocence. Before this point there was some sort of idealized belief that even though bad situations happen, such as Tom being arrested, society proves to be righteous and the innocent are exonerated. However, when Tom is convicted this shatters the ideal image that Jem has in his mind and he cannot conceive why society works as it does. Chapter 21 serves as the pinnacle point in which Jem stops being a child and is awakened to the workings of the real world. Furthermore, chapter 22 shows the consequences of Jem’s innocence being shattered and how he deals with this corruption emotionally and physically.

His reaction is one of pain.

In the beginning of this chapter, Jem is cocky (to say the least). He fully believes that Tom will be aquitted. When Reverand Sykes expresses his concern, Jem says,"don't fret, we've won it...Don't see how any jury could convict on what we heard."

However, as the jury comes in, it is clear that things will not go well. The judge polls the jury. "Gulity...guilty...guilty...guilty...". Scout looks at her brother and saw that "his hands were white from gripping the balcony ral, and his shoulders jerked as if each "guilty" was a separate stab between them."

Jem has learned a painful life-lesson. Innocence will not always equal justice.

Jem is entering adolescence and struggling to deal with the idea that the white adults in his community are not the figures he once he idealized and respected. Having sat through the trial, he knows that Tom Robinson is not guilty of raping Mayella, and yet the jury convicted him. He is angry at the blatant injustice and hypocrisy of blaming an innocent man for a crime he didn't commit just because of his race.

Jem has been disillusioned because of the trial and what it says about human nature. He had thought people would behave better. His solution is to not want to talk about what happened. Scout asking about why people can condemn the persecution of the Jews in Germany and not understand that the whites do the same towards the blacks in Maycomb hits a raw nerve in Jem.

When Scout goes to Atticus to ask him why Jem reacted so harshly, Atticus tells her that Jem simply needs time and space to come to terms with what happened.

Towards the end of chapter 26, Scout attempts to ask Jem about her teacher's hypocritical comments by discussing what she overheard Miss Gates saying about the black community while she was leaving the trial. Jem immediately becomes furious and tells Scout,

I never wanta hear about that courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me? You hear me? Don’t you ever say one word to me about it again, you hear? Now go on! (Lee, 251).

Jem is unable to speak about the trial without becoming angry because he is deeply affected by its outcome. Tom's wrongful conviction has negatively affected Jem's perception of his community, and Jem has become jaded with his racist neighbors. Jem genuinely believed that his father would win the case and is absolutely crushed when Judge Taylor read the guilty verdict. Ever since Jem witnesses racial injustice firsthand, he is unable to properly cope with his negative emotions and attempts to repress the painful memory by not speaking about the trial, which is why he refuses to answer Scout regarding Miss Gates's hypocritical comments.

In Chapter 22 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, after Atticus responds to Jem's question regarding the verdict of Tom Robinson's trial, "How could they do it, how could they?" by saying,

I don't know, but they did it.  They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it--seems that only children weep....

Atticus's mention of children weeping points to Jem's having trouble reconciling his childish idealism with his maturing recognition of reality.  When Scout asks about Miss Gates's seemingly hypocritical remarks about Negroes in light of her school speech on the equality of all people, Jem becomes "furious" as he is reminded of the terrible hypocrisy of the jury in Tom's trial.  Atticus, of course, recognizes Jem's dilemma and tells Scout that Jem is "trying hard to forget something," but Scout feels that he is storing the incidents of the trial until he can "sort things out."

In Chapter 17, Scout notices Jem's interest in the case. She isn't sure, at this point, if Jem is being dramatic or if he is really emotionally and intellectually involved in the trial:

Jem’s hand, which was resting on the balcony rail, tightened around it. He drew in his breath suddenly. Glancing below, I saw no corresponding reaction, and wondered if Jem was trying to be dramatic. 

As it turns out, Jem is very concerned with the case. Since he is older, he might have a better understanding (than Scout) of the significance of the trial and the potential injustice that would result if Atticus loses the case. He also doesn't want to see his father fail. Jem is quite confident by the end of Chapter 17 when Atticus shows how it was more likely for a left-handed man (Mr. Ewell) to have beaten up Mayella. 

Even until the end of Chapter 21, Jem is still very confident. But at the very end of the chapter when the jury gives the guilty verdict, Jem is crushed. Following the trial, Jem continues to try to understand how a jury could make such a poor decision. Atticus tells him, in his own way, how the history of racism led to the unjust verdict. 

The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. (Chapter 23) 

In Chapter 22 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem's face grows "streaked with angry tears" as he declares, "It ain't right, Atticus." Prior to that moment, Jem grasps the balcony rail so hard his hands were white and "his shoulders jerked" with each guilty verdict from the jury that Judge Taylor read. The reason for Jem's reaction is he saw, just as Atticus saw, that the evidence of the case clearly indicated Tom Robinson's innocence, not guilt.

Jem begins to demonstrate how much he understands the evidence is pointing to Ewell's own guilt the moment Sheriff Tate testifies that Mayella had been bruised on the right side of her face and had bruises circling her entire neck from a strangle hold. The right side of her face could only have been bruised by a left-handed man facing her, and a man would need to be able to use both of his hands to bruise her entire neck. Atticus and Robinson understand the significance of Sheriff Tate's testimony, as evidenced by the fact that they exchange words. Jem is apparently observant and old enough to also register the significance, as shown in the fact that Tate's testimony makes Jem extremely happy.

Jem also demonstrates he understands the evidence points to Ewell's guilt during Ewell's own testimony. Atticus cleverly asks Ewell to write his name before the court to prove that Ewell is ambidextrous. Jem demonstrates his understanding of the importance of this evidence when he pounds the rail in excitement and whispers, "We've got him"; in saying "him," Jem means Ewell (Ch. 17).

The most telling moment in the trial is when, during Mayella's testimony, Atticus has Robinson stand before the court to reveal his shriveled left arm and hand, and Jem exclaims, "Scout, look! Reverend, he's crippled!" (Ch. 18). Jem can very easily deduce that if Robinson's left arm is crippled, he could not possibly have hit Mayella in the right side of her face nor strangled her with both hands. Ewell was the only one present at the scene of the alleged crime that has demonstrated the ability to use his left hand.

Since Jem sees clearly just how much the evidence proves Robinson's innocence and points to Ewell's guilt, Jem is shocked beyond belief to hear the verdict of the jury. Hence, Jem cries because he knows an innocent man has just been convicted based on racism, which is exactly what Jem means when he says, "It ain't right, Atticus" (Ch. 22).

Jem saw through the injustice and the racism of Maycomb. When he talked to Atticus about it and Atticus tried to explain to Jem the judicial process, Jem was still upset. 

In particular, Jem was upset that the jury had so much power. This is why he wanted to do away with the jury. He realized that the ordinary citizen of Maycomb was unreliable when it came to the color of a person's skin. Here is what Jem says:

“Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries.” Jem was adamant.

Atticus at that point tried to explain to Jem that there are good people out there. This means juries could be fair. Atticus, therefore, gives an example by saying if the jury was made up of boys like Jem, Tom would have won the trial. Here is what Atticus says:

“If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man,” said Atticus. “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process. Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason.

Jem was still upset. What made him really upset was the reality of Atticus' words, that a white man's word will always beat a black man's word. Atticus said: 

In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.”

After Jem hears the verdict, Scout notices that "his hands (are) white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerk as if each 'guilty' is a separate stab between them." This implies that Jem is shocked, angry, and pained by the verdict. He has seen the trial unfold and was convinced that Tom Robinson would, on the basis of the evidence, be found innocent. The fact that his hands grip the balcony so tightly could suggest anger, as if he is trying to concentrate his anger through his grip rather than voicing it while the court is still in session. The simile comparing the guilty verdict to stab wounds also implies the pain and shock that constitutes Jem's initial reaction. This reaction also shows that there is a kind of violence to the verdict, or, more specifically, to the racism behind the verdict.

After their father leaves the courtroom, Jem's shock gives way to a cathartic release of sadness and grief, and he cries. His face is "streaked with angry tears" and he keeps muttering "It ain't right." The anger and the incredulity are indicative of Jem's realization that the law is not impartial but subject to the racism of the people it depends upon. This is a shocking and saddening realization for a child to have.

Jem is sad and angry when the verdict is read in To Kill a Mockingbird.  He does not understand how such a miscarriage of justice could occur.

While the verdict is read, Jem is intense.

I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each "guilty" was a separate stab between them. (ch 22)

Old enough to understand the trial, he was sure he had followed all of the evidence and there was no way the jury could return a guilty verdict.  Jem was convinced that Tom Robinson would be acquitted once Atticus established that the crime he was accused of never took place, and Tom could not physically commit it if it did.

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… (ch 22)

Atticus comments that the verdict was “a little too strong for him” because he was highly affected by the trial.  He wanted to be a lawyer, and expected Atticus to win.  To Jem, there is no way the jury could have found Tom guilty.  Jem is in a state of shock.

Jem is at an age when fairness is important.  He is also learning how the world really works.  Yes, the verdict should have gone the other way.  It didn't, because of the racism in Maycomb.