Jeremy Finch grew up in the small, silent town of Maycomb, Alabama. He was the son of Atticus Finch, a well respected attorney and very devoted father. More commonly known as Jem, Jeremy was an avid football player who also took interest in books and picture shows. He mainly associated himself with his sister, Scout, and summertime neighbor, Dill. Throughout the course of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem's life was changes in many different ways as a result of a diverse variety of events. What, specifically, were the events that changed Jem's life in Harper Lee's novel? Although Jem went through many revelations in his young life, some of the key ones were his experiences with Arthur Radley, the mob scene at the jailhouse, and the infamous Tom Robinson trial that beleaguered the town for many months; all of those events were worthy causes of Jem's growing and maturing as he traveled from page to page in Lee's timeless work of fiction.
Arthur Radley was a very popular topic mentioned throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Most of his interactions with Jem were indirect, like the games the children played imitating the Radley's, the attempts to sneak a peek at the ominous entity, and so on. However, the episode concerning the knothole brought Jem and Arthur as close as they would ever come to each other. In the sixth chapter of the book, Jem, Scout and Dill stealthily made their way to the Radley's house in an effort to get a solid look at Arthur. According to page 51, paragraph 12, "Dill and Jem were just going to peep in the window with the loose shutter to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley- Nonetheless, their attempts failed as they were chased off the lot by the thundering blast of a shotgun. Perhaps the most important event to Jem, though, was the knothole affair. After accepting many gifts from Arthur (" two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies- page 278 paragraph 14), Scout and Jem made an attempt to write a letter to him, thanking him for his kindness.
