Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) Timeline and Summary

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• The summer Jem is nine, he meets Dill.
• Jem tells Dill scary stories about Boo Radley
• Dill dares Jem to go up to the Radley Place; Jem is scared, but he can’t turn down a dare.
• Jem walks Scout to school on her first day.
• At recess, Jem tries to explain to Scout about the school’s new system of education.
• Jem steps in when Scout is fighting with Walter Cunningham and invites the boy home for lunch.
• On the last day of school, Scout and Jem find a box containing two Indian-head pennies in the same tree.
• Dill arrives for the summer, and Jem tells him stories about Hot Steams, even though Scout says he’s just making them up.
• In revenge Jem gives Scout an extra push when she’s riding inside an old tire, and she lands right in the Radleys’ front yard.
• A dazed Scout runs out of there as fast as she can, leaving Jem to retrieve the tire.
• Jem ropes an enthusiastic Dill and a reluctant Scout into a new game: acting out scenes from Boo Radley’s life.
• Jem keeps concocting plans for getting Boo to come out: first he tries to give him a note, then he tries to sneak up to the house at night, but he still doesn’t see Boo.
• After the botched midnight raid on the Radley Place with Scout and Dill, Jem returns alone to retrieve his pants, which were caught on a fence.
• He finds his pants neatly folded on the fence, with the tear mended.
• Scout and Jem keep finding treasures in the tree, until Nathan Radley fills the hole with cement, which upsets Jem.
• Scout and Jem have a rare snow day off from school and build a snow man.
• The night Miss Maudie’s house burns, Jem stands with Scout in front of the Radley Place, but he doesn’t see Boo bring out the blanket for Scout either.
• At Christmas, Scout and Jem look forward to seeing Uncle Jack but dread spending time at Aunt Alexandra’s.
• Scout and Jem feel bad that their father can’t do anything interesting or impressive.
• Scout and Jem see a mad dog coming down the street, and watch as Atticus shoots it.
• Jem tells Scout not to brag to everyone that their father is a good shot, but takes a private pleasure in the fact.
• Jem buys Scout a baton, but he breaks it destroying Mrs. Dubose’s camellias after the old woman insults Atticus.
• Atticus makes Jem apologize, and his punishment is to read to Mrs. Dubose every day after school.
• After her death, Mrs. Dubose’s servant sends Jem a box the old woman wanted him to have.
• It contains a single camellia, and makes Jem feel like she’s stalking him from beyond the grave, but Atticus tells him it’s a signal that everything’s all right between them.
• Jem’s becoming a moody middle-schooler.
• With Atticus away on a Sunday, Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her own, African-American, church.
• Seeing Calpurnia at her own church prompts Scout and Jem to ask her questions about herself.
• Scout and Jem arrive home to find Aunt Alexandra on the front porch.
• When Scout finds Dill hiding under her bed, Jem tells Atticus.
• Scout and Jem watch as Atticus talks with a group of men who arrive on their doorstep one night, concerned about the Tom Robinson case.
• The next night, Jem goes out, and Scout joins him.
• Picking up Dill along the way, they go to the town square looking for Atticus.
• The trio sees him sitting in front of the jail reading, and are about to leave when some men drive up.
• While Atticus is talking to the men, Scout runs up to join them, and Jem follows with Dill.
• Atticus tells Jem to take the other two and go home, but Jem refuses.
• One of the men grabs Jem, and Scout kicks him.
• Once Scout defuses the situation, Jem walks home with Atticus, who ruffles his hair.
• The next morning, Scout, Jem, and Dill watch the crowds on the way to the courthouse for Tom’s trial.
• They go to the courthouse themselves, but the only seats they can get are in the balcony where the African-Americans sit.
• Jem makes periodical whispered comments about how well the case is going for Atticus, and how it’s a sure thing that Tom will be acquitted.
• After Atticus finishes his closing remarks, he finds out the kids are there, and sends them home for dinner.
• After dinner Scout, Jem, and Dill return, to find the jury still out.
• Jem is still confident that Atticus will win his case.
• When the guilty verdict comes back, Jem is heartbroken.
• The next day, Scout, Jem, and Dill try to avoid their adult neighbors, but join Miss Maudie for cake.
• After Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’s face and threatens him, Scout and Jem are scared he will make good on his threats.
• After all the adults bail out of attending Scout’s Halloween pageant, Jem walks Scout through the darkness to the school.
• On the way, Cecil Jacobs jumps out at Scout and Jem and scares them.
• After Scout misses her cue and feels stupid, Jem waits with her until everyone else leaves to go home.
• On their way home, Scout and Jem are attacked by someone, and Jem is knocked out.
• A stranger picks up the unconscious Jem and carries him home while Scout follows.
• Jem stays unconscious while his sister hangs out with Boo Radley, and doesn’t wake up before the book ends.