At the start of chapter 25, Scout and Jem were sleeping on the back porch when a Roly-Poly which is and insect got inside the house. As the roly-poly went by minding it’s own business Scout decided to touch the insect, as she touched it, it kept rolling into small balls. Scout kept on bothering it even though it had not attacked her or bothered her. Then Scout decides to take it upon herself to try and kill the roly-poly. Before she can kill it Jem scowls at her letting her know not to kill it. Scout then questions him and says, “why couldn’t I mash him?( 320 Lee). Jem then says , “because they don’t bother you”(320 Lee). Scout has never seen this side of Jem so she assumes that he is in his “moment” and while in that moment he discovered sympathy for bugs. Scout says, “Reckon your at that stage now where you don’t kill flies and mosquitos now, I reckon”(320 Lee). This shows that Jem, while in his “moment” has matured and Scout is still to young to understand why such a small thing is such a big deal.
I agree that Jem showed maturity when he told Scout not to kill the roly poly, but I also think that the roly poly situation represented the Tom Robinson's case. Even though he didn't do anything the Ewell's insisted that he did just because he was African American. The roly poly didn't do anything yet Scout kept bothering it just because it was a bug. Scout realizes after reading the Maycomb Tribune that "Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth," but she didn't realize that what she was thinking also applies on a small scale (Lee 323). I don't know if Jem was thinking about the Tom Robinson case when he said to not kill the bug but it does show his ability of empathy. As we near the end of the book I think that Jem has matured a lot and this was a good example of it.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jem telling Scout to not kill the roly poly is a great example of Jem maturing in the book. I also think that in a sense, the roly poly represents Boo Radley. Mr. Radley stays inside his protective shell (his house) and doesn't bother anybody. The few times he does come out of his house, is when he is doing good to others. "I looked down and found myself clutching a larch brown blanket... Mr. Nathan was at the fire, he babbled...looks like all of Maycomb was out in one way or another." This is a great example of maturity and empathy expressed by Jem.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the roly poly incident showed Jem’s maturity. Jem tells Scout not to smash the roly poly “ because they don’t bother you.” (Lee 320). In a way the roly poly is like a mockingbird. Jem is telling Scout not to harm it because it is innocent. This connects to Tom Robinson's trial and racism because Tom Robinson is like a mockingbird. Tom Robinson was a very kind person. He helped Mayella out of his own good will, he never harmed her or had the intention to. Yet, he was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He was definitely innocent. People in Maycomb know it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, but they don’t realize that they in theory they killed a mockingbird; Tom Robinson.
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