She managed to do this by creating a loose character and developing him more and more as the story progressed. For example, Jem was a laid-back, adventurous, and curious character, but with Boo Radley's time hiding in the house and the trial, he developed into the era of social commentary. In each of these events, Jem had to be courageous. While Boo hid in the house, he ran across the lawn to prove his courage to the children. Also during the trial, Jem showed courage to stand up to the crowd outside the prison. Overall, Harper Lee uses a developing character to show how the town reacts to a certain character, in a certain instance. Overall, the social commentary surrounding the character depends on which character it belongs to.