Can anyone tell me any quotes from to kill a mockingbird about how jem acquires an understanding of people??

Question

i have the quote: "scout im beginning to understand why boo radley stayed shut up in the house all this time... its because he wants to stay inside." and the quote about "theres four kind of folks in this world..." but i need one more quote. please help!!!!

Answer 1

I believe that the brief exchange between Scout and Jem (below) helps to show that Jem is acquiring an understanding of life, including what Atticus said about not killing beings that do no harm.  

Recall that in Chapter 10, Atticus told Jem never to shoot a mockingbird, because it causes no harm.  In Chapter 25, Scout is prepared to kill a "roly-poly" (i.e., bug), and Jem stops her.  With that act and his words (below), Jem shows a desire to protect anything that does no harm. He witnessed the innocent Tom Robinson suffer humiliation and death, and he has begun to understand what Atticus said about it being sinful to take advantage of or destroy something weaker than himself -- just as it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

Quotation:

Scout:  "Why couldn't I mash him? I asked."

Jem: "Because they don't bother you, Jem answered in the darkness.  He had turned out his reading light." (Chapter 25)