Jem's maturity and control of emotion, as well as his sense of reasoning, separate Jem and Scout in these two chapters.
Jem is the brave and reasonable one after Dill, Scout, and Jem go to the Radley house. Jem loses his pants on the fence while fleeing the house. He has to face his fears and retrieve his pants. Scout cannot understand why he would do that, and it causes a split between them. Jem realizes that fear is less important to him than losing Atticus's respect.
In chapter seven, Jem's maturity and reason are still evident. While Scout wonders about the filling of the knothole, she does not reflect on the implications. Jem, however, withdraws as he contemplates the action. The loss of communication with Boo overwhelms him. He cries when he is alone. For Jem, Boo is no longer a "thing", but a person. Scout has not reached this point yet. Jem shows his maturity with his decision to ask Nathan Radley directly. Scout would never approach an adult and demand answers.
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