“Maturity is the ability to think, speak, and act on your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become in the midst of your frustrations. is a quote from Samuel Ullman. This depicts the struggles that Jem went through participating in the community and the trial and also taking the risk of losing some of his friends and family in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Through Jem's interaction with Maycomb's racism, he became aware of the things around him. We all learn that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society. Jem changed throughout the story, going from acting like a child and doing things that children do to becoming more mature and participating in the community. When Dill had run away from his mother and stepfather over the summer, Jem and Scout had found him under the bed in Scout's room. Scout intended to hide it in her room: however, Jem had other plans. “Dill's eyes turned to Jem and Jem looked at the ground. Then he stood up and broke the remaining code from our childhood. He left the room and walked down the hallway. “Atticus, can you come here for a minute, sir?” (p. 74) For years, Jem and Dill were best friends. Dill had found Jem trustworthy, however, Jem was willing to do what was right even if it meant losing the trust of a friend. Towards the end of the summer, as Dill was preparing to leave, Jem felt it was necessary for Dill to learn to swim. He spent the next week going to the stream to teach her. "Jem had discovered with great astonishment that no one had ever bothered to teach Dill how to swim, a skill that Jem considered as necessary as walking. They had spent two afternoons at the cove, they said that 'they were going... middle of paper... a person's word rather than a black man's Jem knows it's not fair because he knows Tom didn't do anything and that. 'They were unfair to him because of the color of his skin. It takes a lot of dignity, faith and courage on the part of your peers and yourself. However, once the change is made, you have too. the power to change others. Jem showed us by participating in something important that was happening in the community. We can also be like Jem. We can even take part in activities around our community, like volunteering at the local food bank. By participating in the community, we learned that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.