Harper Lee included Jem’s realization of different folks to show how Jem is maturing and developing. In the passage Jem is telling Scout what the different types of folks are and how they act. Jem has now realized that Boo Radley stays inside his house because he wants to stay there. It is clear that no one is holding Boo back from leaving, but he is scared of the outside world and himself. When Boo was younger he joins a “gang” with troubled children and was almost jailed for it, but his father kept that from happening. If Boo were to ever leave he wouldn’t have anyone and anywhere to go, keeping him from leaving. Jem fulfilling this realization is a sign of his maturity and knowing the depth of his surroundings. Although, Jem has matured in general he was matured over Scout as well. In the passage while Jem is explaining his findings he mentions “‘That’s what I thought, too,’ he said at last, ‘when I was you age…”’(304). This quote shows that Jem feels more powerful over Scout and thinks of her even more as an immature little girl. When Jem turned twelve he became harder to live with for Scout and more opinionated he stated “‘It’s time you start bein’ a girl and acting right!’’(Lee 153). Earlier on in the book Jem was more acceptant of Scouts “tom-boy” ways, but after he turned twelve he began to see her as different and he didn’t accept that about her. Over the course of the book Jem is growing and realizing the depth of his little town and maturing, but hopefully he won’t let his “power” go to his head.
I disagree with you when you said that it was clear that no one was holding Boo back from leaving. That could be a possibility, but then how could you explain why his family acts the way they did? Do you think they are giving people a reason to judge there actions because of Boo like Dolphus Raymond pretends he drinks whiskey so people can blame what he does on a drinking problem? When Jem says; “‘That’s what I thought, too,’ he said at last, ‘when I was you age…”’(304), He is making another statement that pushes him farther away from Scout. He makes it seem like he is just that much older then Scout, when in reality he has just as much to learn as she does. I think Jem is feeling a little alone because he feels older than Scout and younger then the adults, so he doesn't have anyone to relate to what he is going through.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you because I do think that 20 years ago Boo Radley wasn't able to leave his house, but in the current setting of the book I don't think that Boo Radley isn't capable of leaving his house. For example, in the very beginning of the book Jem describes Boo as, "six and a half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and cats he could catch." (Lee 16) I think that Boo Radley doesn't leave his house because he feels like an outsider. He feels as though living in his basement isn't much different from socializing with others because nobody will want to talk to him. I also think that the end of chapter 23 shows that Jem is maturing greatly because is starting to look through the eyes of others. Jem is looking through the eyes of Boo Radley and realizes that to Boo the outside is very scary. Just imagine that you were born in you have lived in America for your whole life, but all of a sudden you have the option of living in China. Unless you speak Chinese and understand the culture, you're probably not going to want to live in China.
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