Jeremy (Jem) Finch

1. How others see him...

1.1. Scout writes that "Jem was a born hero" in chapter 4. This is where Scout shows that she looks up to her brother and admires him, just as any younger sister would.

1.2. Atticus has raised Jem and Scout the best way he can, but he begins to question this as the town talks about him defending Tom Robinson. This doubtfulness from Atticus is shown in chapter 9. He hopes that "they trust (him)" and wishes that he can still "face his children" after they have developed their own opinions about the trail. The fact that he has questioned himself about whether his children might change on him, is because he knows they are intelligent and they draw their own conclusions. He also knows that when they believe in something, they stick to it.

1.3. Miss Maudie has a large amount of trust in Jem and Scout. She opens up to them about her feelings and opinions but with the rest of the town she is a shy and quiet woman. She tells Jem and Scout her honest opinions about the townsfolk, as shown when she insults "the foot-washers [who] think women are a sin by definition".

2. Motivated by...

2.1. Jem is motivated by pride and respect from Atticus. This is shown in chapter 6 when Jem loses his pants on the Radley's fence, so he goes back to get them. When Scout asks why he went back, he says 'Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way'. It is not the fear of being hit by Atticus that motivates him, but his reputation in Atticus' eyes. He doesn’t want to disappoint his father.

2.2. Another quality that motivates Jem is his fear of failure. He doesn’t like to fail, and as Scout says he has 'never declined a dare'. His fear of failure is introduced to the readers when Dill dares him to go and touch the front door of the Radley House. After Scout has embarrassed him, saying that he hasn't got the guts to do it, he takes Dill's dare and completes it.

2.3. Jem motivates himself through his resilience. Scout says that 'Jem was not one to dwell on past defeats'. This was shown when Jem was told by Atticus not to be involved with anything regarding Boo Radley. Jem saw this as a defeat to him and Dill, because they wanted to continue their games. He ignored this and continued his adventures with Dill.

3. Acts like...

3.1. At the start of the novel, Jem is portrayed as a young playful child that didn't really have a care in the world. This is shown when Jem fantasises and playing games about Boo Radley. As the novel continues, Jem becomes a more mature child and he becomes appalled with the way people are treating Tom Robinson. His real fight and anger is shown when he asks Atticus 'how could they do it, how could they?'

3.2. Jem is a very brave character. At the start of the novel (when he is 10), Scout see's him as brave because 'he had never declined a dare,' such as sneaking up to the Radley house. But, as Jem gets older, his bravery is more obvious in things such as sneak out at night to the Maycomb jail to see if his father was okay (chapter 15) and refused to leave when an angry mob approached.

3.3. Jem is a very sporty person. Scout describes him as 'football crazy,' (chapter 10). Also, at the start of the novel, Jem will not come down from his tree until Atticus agrees to play in the football game.

4. Textile issues or concerns linked to his character:

4.1. Jem gets angry when Mrs Dubose says that Atticus is 'no better than the niggers and trash he works for', so he ruins her garden. Scout describes the scene in chapter 11, saying that '[Jem] simply went mad'. This makes Jem look like an immature boy and inconsiderate of the elderly in his town.

4.2. Jem takes risks that are dangerous for him and his family. This is specifically shown when Jem, Scout and Dill visit Atticus at the jail where he is protecting Tom Robinson from a mob. When Atticus tells Jem to go home, he 'shook his head' and refuses to go home. This scene is in chapter 15.

5. Looks like...

5.1. Jem has brown hair, a round/oval face and brown eyes. This is shown in chapter 15 as Scout states; 'Jem's soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug fitting ears we're our mother's...'.

5.2. Jem is 4 years older than Scout (10 years old at the start of the novel). This is shown in chapter 1 of the novel where Scout states '...but Jem, who was four years my senior...'

5.3. Jem is not very tall. This is shown in chapter 6 when the kids visit the Radley house and Scout notices that 'the sill' was several inches taller than Jem.'

6. Beliefs and Values

6.1. Jem is not a discriminative person and he does not judge by race. This is shown in the Tom Robinson trial when Jem believes Tom has received an injustice with the verdict. He does not automatically assume that Tom is guilty just because he was black. This is shown in chapter 22 when Jem defends Tom by saying 'who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who?'

6.2. In the time when the book was set, younger girls were seen as in superior but Jem does not see or treat Scout that way. This is shown in chapter 28 when Jem protects Scout from Bob Ewell. On that day, no body wanted to take Scout to the concert, but Jem did because he respected Scout. He is also comforting towards Scout. This is shown in chapter 7 when Scout is upset that someone filled in their tree hole. He comforts her by saying 'Don't you cry, now, Scout... don't cry now, don't you worry.'

6.3. Jem values good people and he doesn't understand why people aren't fair to everyone. After Tom's case, Jem started to decide who the good people in Maycomb were. Jem values good people and sticks by the people that he love and respect. This is shown in chapter 22 when Jem states 'I always thought that Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they seemed like.'