1. Appearance
1.1. brown hair
1.2. thin build
1.3. Similar to Atticus - "Jem’s soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug-fitting ears were our mother’s, contrasting oddly with Atticus’s graying black hair and square-cut features, but they were somehow alike."
1.4. fit + athletic
1.5. light skin (white)
1.6. short - at the Radley Place, Scout says the "sill was several inches taller” than Jem.
2. Personality
2.1. bossy towards Scout
2.1.1. "I know what we are going to play," he announced. "Something new, something different. […] Boo Radley."
2.1.2. treats Scout as a child as a way for him to establish himself as a grown-up
2.1.2.1. "It's different with grown folks, we-"
2.2. mature
2.2.1. matures throughout the novel
2.2.1.1. book shows when Jem begins to change into a man
2.2.1.2. becomes moody
2.2.1.3. Scout notes on how he becomes wiser
2.2.2. understands Atticus' situation with Tom Robinson whilst Scout does not
2.2.3. “not one to dwell on past defeats” (51)
2.3. caring older brother
2.4. brave
2.4.1. touches the Radley house
2.4.2. gets his shorts from Radley house
2.5. curious
2.5.1. trying to push the boundaries at times
2.5.2. sometimes does things Atticus would disapprove of
2.6. clever
2.6.1. like Scout, he was raised by Atticus + is smarter than many people his age
3. What others think of Jem
3.1. talented
3.2. responsible
3.3. mature
3.4. Scout's role model
3.5. Atticus appreciates that Jem is growing up
3.5.1. ch15. Jem, Scout, Dill go to Atticus' office, 'Atticus reached out and massaged Jem's hair, his one gesture of affection'
3.5.2. “I’ll never worry about what’ll become of you, son, you’ll always have an idea” p67
4. Beliefs + Values
4.1. obeys his father's request to stop fighting
4.1.1. his anger grows without expressing it - one day he releases it by destroying Mrs Dubose's garden
4.2. believes in his fathers morals
4.3. believes Tom Robinson's trial is unfair and is strongly affected
4.3.1. "Judge Taylor was polling the jury: "Guilty... guilty... guilty... guilty..." 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." ch21
4.4. values honesty
4.4.1. when Scout found the items left in Radley's tree, he first thought they must belong to someone else. "'We'll keep 'em till school starts, then go around and ask everybody if they're theirs'" pg 38
4.4.2. begins to lose faith in humanity when Tom Robinson is found guilty
5. Motivated by
5.1. greatly follows in his fathers footsteps
5.2. his curiosity
5.2.1. whilst trying to get Boo Radley out
5.2.2. following Atticus to his office to see where he is (ch.15) "'I've just got this feeling,' Jem said, 'just this feeling'"
5.3. Dill
5.4. Scout
5.4.1. makes Jem begin to act older and stronger then his little sister