Topic > A study of the theme of sibling rivalry as depicted in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird

“ With that I left. «Damn morphodit. I'll kill you!' He was sitting on a bed, and it was easy to grab the hair in front of him and have one land in his mouth. He slapped me and I tried another left, but a punch in the stomach knocked me to the ground. It almost blew me away, but it didn't matter because I knew he was fighting, he was pushing me away. We were still the same. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “You're not so strong and powerful now, are you!” I screamed, setting sail again… We were still fighting when Atticus separated us. (Chapter 12, page 184) In this passage from To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows Scout and Jem fighting. It shows that they don't just fight verbally, as shown when Jem told Scout "Damn morphodite", but they also fight physically. It is seen on the same page that Scout showed how she finds Jem's "Superiority" to be really bothering her. She was simply irritated by the way Jem tried to act like an adult. Right before they started arguing, Jem was threatening to "spank" her if she made Aunt Alexandra angry. This drove her crazy with his superior attitude and the way he acts bossy. From here, he immediately loses his mind and turns it into a physical fight. During the fight, Scout was seriously injured by Jem, but she didn't seem to care as he was fighting back. Scout yells "You're not so high and mighty now, are you", indicating how she knew that what he was doing isn't mature at all and he's no different than her. After that, Atticus had to stop them from fighting and separated them. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In this passage, I can very well identify with Scout herself. But for me it wasn't sibling rivalry, I had problems with my cousin who is only half a year older than me. Even though he's not even that much older than me or better than me at many things, he still acts "high and mighty," kind of like Jem. I can say that I'm a bit like Scout, in that we both seem to have childlike qualities. I myself have found myself in arguments, like this one with my older cousin for the same reason. Honestly, if I were in Scout's shoes, I probably would have done the same thing, because sometimes I get lost and get into physical fights, especially when people annoy me for no reason. Sometimes, I usually just try to keep my mouth shut, which Scout seemed to be trying to do right before this step. But just like Scout, I completely lose my temper and start arguing, most of the time it's verbal but mostly physical. And, just as Jem and Scout were shown in this passage, a parent separated us so we could stop fighting. And just like Scout, I usually fight him just to show him that he's actually no better than me, and that's how I can relate to her in this passage..