Jem knew from the start that Tom Robinson had no chance of winning a case against the Ewells. However, he was mistaken in thinking that the jury might be open-minded in this particular case. Of course, that's not what ultimately happened; Tom Robinson is found guilty, leading Jem to wonder if Maycomb is really the same one he remembered from his childhood. This change in Jem is particularly evident when Scout comes to question him about Hitler's hatred of all Jewish people during the Holocaust; Scout ended up comparing what her teacher said in class to what that same teacher said outside the courthouse after the trial, and Jem immediately remembered the verdict: Jem was suddenly furious. He jumped out of bed, grabbed me by the collar and shook me. “I never want to hear about this courthouse again, ever, ever, you hear me? Do you hear me? Don't ever say a word to me about it again, you hear? Now keep going! (Lee 331). Faced with bigotry, Jem initially refused to accept reality. He refused to admit that even though Maycomb was the town he grew up in, even though it was where he lived, he was completely surrounded by injustice. Jem made a mistake rather than accept the fact that the world is much harsher, cruel and just more unfair than he thought. This is a common theme throughout the book that