Posted: September 7th, 2022

Lessons Derived From the Characters Jem and Scout

Lessons Derived From the Characters Jem and Scout in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
In the novel To kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the siblings Jem and Scout witness Robinson’s death, who was the cruel bias victim of Maycomb (a fictitious town in America). As Scout and Jem grow up and observe the racial division in the region, they are exposed to different views centered on various kinds of prejudice. As a result of Scout and Jem’s exposure to various kinds of prejudice in the town, they learn many essential life lessons. The siblings are taught various important lessons by adults in the novel, such as Calpurnia, Atticus, and others. As they grow up, the lessons are helpful and enable them to understand why people act a particular way or do what they do. In the same way, children can learn several life lessons from the characters Scout and Jem.
Treating people somewhat is the first lesson children learn from the novel. Despite numerous town prejudices, Atticus teaches Scout and Jem to treat people fairly (Lee, 16). He portrays fairness when defending and protecting Tom at the jail when the crowd comes ready to kill Tom. Also, the children are taught about fairness based on Atticus’s instructions on how to treat Boo. Same way children learn from the novel to treat people fairly despite their gender, race, and age. Children must learn to respect others despite their age or race. Scout and Jem are taught to treat all individuals in the town fairly despite the prejudice they experience. They are taught that people are defined based on how they treat others, and cruel behavior will never be justified by religion. The teaching gets into their head and starts treating all individuals with respect.
Moreover, children learn a vital lesson on judging people based on ambiguous information. Radley Boo’s compassionate presence taught Jem and Scout not to discriminate against people based on their disability and not to judge based on the rumors. Mr. Boo taught the children the dangers of stereotyping people based on rumors. The personal experience of Scout and Jem with Boo helped in dispelling the prejudiced perspectives about individuals with disabilities. The consistent and constant compassionate acts from Mr. Boo, such as leaving gifts like chewing gum, soap carvings, old watch, and other jewelry for Scout and Jem in the tree hole, and the act of folding Jem’s pants show that Mr. Radley is misjudged and is a gentle person. As Jem states, their most significant award was a pocket watch that would not run on a chain with an aluminum knife. The gifts made the children realize how affectionate Mr. Boo was watching them. As a result, Jem appreciates Boo and his gifts by leaving him a thank you note on the tree. Boo’s brother, who is described by Calpurnia as the meanest individual ever created, fills the hole with cement due to a dying tree which shows his callous attitude (Lee, 40). The gossip around Boo as a horrific and dangerous ghost is proved unfair when he decides to save Jem and Scout from the violent grip of Ewel, risking his own life in the process. Boo rescues the children and carries Jem home to be taken care of and get back to his usual health. The term mocking bird is used symbolic word used in the novel by Harper to reflect the notion that it is wrong to unfairly judge or kill something harmless, vulnerable, and innocent, bringing joy to others. Atticus and other adult figures in the novel teach the children not to judge people unfairly. In the same way, in the current times where the world is divided due to race and gender, Atticus’s words remind children to reach out to others and try to view the world from their viewpoint before judging them.

Order | Check Discount