Jem and Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch had a peculiar style of parenting. He never spoiled his children, but he was always there for them in times of need. He treated them with a courteous detachment, yet he had a frank and assertive character. However peculiar it may seemed though, Atticus' parenting was one that earned him the respect of his children. Although it goes without saying that Jem and Scout had conflicts with their father, it is interesting to see how much they both matured throughout the course of the book. But for now, we'll focus on Jeremy Finch.

At the beginning of the story, Jem was a slightly childish 11 year old. He wasn't interested in the politcs and prejudices around him. He was more interested in playing, occasionally immature, games with his friends. The classic example of this is Jem's version of the life of Boo Radley. Although Jem, Scout, Dill and even Boo were apparently amused by this game, Atticus scolded him for it, telling him that such behaviour wasn't befitting of a lawyer. However, although Jem Finch may have initially been immature, his experiences throughout the book forced him to grow up much faster than he expected to.

When Jem was about 12 years old, Scout began to notice a change in him, as well as his relationship with their father. Jem became less eager to get into trouble with his father. "Atticus ain't whipped me since i can remember, and I intend to keep it that way..." This particular quotation came from after he left his pants lying in the Radley backyard. While his comment may have been born of a guilty conscience, it does prove that Jem valued the relationship he and his father had. To avoid being punished and thought badly of by his father, Jem was prepared to risk being shot my Mr Radley as he snuck out of the house at night to retrieve hs pants. Jem's act occurs quite frequently in real life, because we often have to cover up our acts to avoid damaging relationships with people close to us.

As the book progessed, Jem was observed to change in another way. Although he became more respectful around his father, Jem's greatest change was that of his character. Scout goes so far as to say that Jem became a spitting image of his father. In fact, it's true. By the conclusion of the case against Tom Robinson, Jem had matured so much that he actually cried for justice when the accused man was sentenced. Like Atticus, he was well aware of the prejudices that had influenced the trial. Few 12 year olds could ever hope to undersand such deep areas of a society. To say that Jem Finch was your average twelve year old, would be ludicrous. No. For atticus and Jem, it was simply a matter of 'like father, like son."