"'That's because you can't hold something in your mind but a little while,' said Jem. 'It's different with grown folks, we-'
His maddening superiority was unbearable these days. He did not want to do anything but read and go off by himself."
~Jem and Scout
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| This is a picture of maturity during its stages, Jem being on the right and Scout being on the left |
Background
At this point in the book Jem has hit maturity and Scout is still holding on to what is left of her childhood innocence. The different stages these two are on tends to cause fights between them because of the point of view they see them from.
Rationale
The Finch children's feelings toward each other change throughout the novel as Jem grows older and the differences between brother and sister become more over. Scout understands that Jem feels superior toward her and no longer treats her as a playmate. She is frustrated with Jem's airs of superiority and wishes they could play together and talk together as they used to. When Jem starts to give advice to Scout from an adult perspective Scout fights against nature and struggles with letting Jem grow up. Scout selfishly wants Jem to stay young and play and talk like they are a team of kids battling in an adult world. In this quote, Jem is actually making a stand and aligning himself with adults. Jem is starting to make that leap in his growth from kid to young adult and is starting to transition the way he thinks of himself. When we become young adults it is not just a physical change but rather an emotional and mental change, as well. The way we see ourselves can have a profound impact on how well we develop. If you are growing up, but your mind never sees yourself growing up, then you will continue to make child-like decisions. We all know adults that we call “big kids”, because they continue to act like children. In this quote Jem is saying to Scout I no longer think like you.
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