--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys…" description: "\"“He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/beverly-cleary-5332_quote_he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys_325839.jpg" --- # He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and… ![“He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on his face from the skin trouble he had when he was younger—his face was agreeable because it was so. . . . What was the word? Kind, perhaps. Or…” quote by Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/beverly-cleary-5332_quote_he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys_325839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/beverly-cleary-5332_quote_he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys_325839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/beverly-cleary-5332_quote_he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys_325839.jpg) > ““He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on his face from the skin trouble he had when he was younger—his face was agreeable because it was so. . . . What was the word? Kind, perhaps. Or gentle. But strong, too. He was genuinely glad to see all of Sue’s family, and when Sue entered the room and he helped her on with her coat, Jean thought he acted as if her sister was someone precious to him.”” [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a young man whose modest appearance hides a kind, gentle, and strong character, evident in his caring actions toward a loved one. **In simple terms:** A modest-looking man is kind, gentle, and strong, showing care for a sister. Key Takeaway Recognize inner qualities beyond outward looks. Themes character kindness strength appearance relationships Mood warm reflective thoughtful Type literary character study When to use this quote - family gatherings - first impressions - helping a sibling - social interactions Key Concepts empathy social perception masculinity Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess someone's character beyond looks? - What actions reveal true kindness? A Different Perspective Physical appearance can mislead judgments about character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“The disorientation of meeting one’s sagging contemporaries, memories of a younger face crashing into the reality of jowls, under-eye pouches, unexpected lines, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/the-disorientation-of-meeting-one-s-sagging-contemporaries-memories/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Well, let me tell you... Her highness is not the kind, gentle person you think she is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nozomu-tamaki/well-let-me-tell-you-her-highness-is-not-the-kind-gentle-person-you/) [Nozomu Tamaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nozomu-tamaki/) > [“It was really a very simple thing, after all,—it was only that he had lived near a kind and gentle heart, and had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/it-was-really-a-very-simple-thing-after-all-it-was-only-that-he-had/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-highly-approve-of-romney-s-decision-to-be-kind-and-gentle-to-the/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [You have a good heart and you think the good thing is to be guilty and kind but it's not always kind to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/you-have-a-good-heart-and-you-think-the-good-thing-is-to-be-guilty/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Knowledge is important, but only if we're being kind and gentle with ourselves as we work to discover who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/knowledge-is-important-but-only-if-we-re-being-kind-and-gentle-with/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I'm in love with someone good and kind and gentle, and he's seen the darkness too, but somehow we've become each other's light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-m-in-love-with-someone-good-and-kind-and-gentle-and-he-s-seen-the/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [It is in my nature to be kind,gentle and loving. But know this: When it comes to matters of protecting my friends, my family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-my-nature-to-be-kind-gentle-and-loving-but-know-this-when-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're a wonderful person, Jamie. You're beautiful, you're kind, you're gentle...you're everything that I'd like to be. If people don't like you, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-re-a-wonderful-person-jamie-you-re-beautiful-you-re-kind-you-re/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/in-the-long-run-the-sharpest-weapon-of-all-is-a-kind-and-gentle-spirit/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [We are all neighbors. Be kind. Be gentle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemantine-wamariya/we-are-all-neighbors-be-kind-be-gentle/) [Clemantine Wamariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemantine-wamariya/) > [“be kind and gentle with yourself. Take time out to honour and appreciate your uniqueness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-love-senn/be-kind-and-gentle-with-yourself-take-time-out-to-honour-and/) Katrina Love Senn > [Real Love Lasts Forever.. It is Kind and Gentle and Everything Appealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-s-voice/real-love-lasts-forever-it-is-kind-and-gentle-and-everything-appealing/) Lisa's Voice > [Stuart Murdoch is a really special human being - really creative, but also really kind and gentle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/stuart-murdoch-is-a-really-special-human-being-really-creative-but/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [“Good was above all kind; it was to be gentle. It was to waste nothing. It was to paint, to read, to study, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/good-was-above-all-kind-it-was-to-be-gentle-it-was-to-waste-nothing/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More by Beverly Cleary > [I particularly enjoy cello music because our daughter plays the cello. I have listened to her practice for so many hours that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-particularly-enjoy-cello-music-because-our-daughter-plays-the-cello/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-don-t-necessarily-start-with-the-beginning-of-the-book-i-just-start/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I think adults sometimes don't think about how children are feeling about the adult problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-adults-sometimes-don-t-think-about-how-children-are-feeling/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [What interests me is what children go through while growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/what-interests-me-is-what-children-go-through-while-growing-up/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I know that when I was a children's librarian, that was about 1940, boys particularly asked where were the books about kids like us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-know-that-when-i-was-a-children-s-librarian-that-was-about-1940/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature. Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-haven-t-been-very-enthusiastic-about-the-commercialization-of/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“She was surprised to feel his hand on her arm and still more surprised-almost unbelieving-to see his fingers unclasp his identification bracelet and remove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/she-was-surprised-to-feel-his-hand-on-her-arm-and-still-more/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [The key to writing successful YA is to keep the adults out of the story as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/the-key-to-writing-successful-ya-is-to-keep-the-adults-out-of-the/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [In my grammar school years back in the 1920s I used my ten-cents-a-week allowance for Saturday matinees of Douglas Fairbanks movies. All that swashbuckling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/in-my-grammar-school-years-back-in-the-1920s-i-used-my-ten-cents-a/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“Well, she thought, I'm certainly bright. She had wanted to meet a new boy and when she finally did meet one she didn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/well-she-thought-i-m-certainly-bright-she-had-wanted-to-meet-a-new/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I wrote books to entertain. I'm not trying to teach anything! If I suspected the author was trying to show me how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-wrote-books-to-entertain-i-m-not-trying-to-teach-anything-if-i/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I had a bad time in school in the first grade. Because I had been a rather lonely child on a farm, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-had-a-bad-time-in-school-in-the-first-grade-because-i-had-been-a/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“If there's one thing I can't stand, its a cheeky mouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/if-there-s-one-thing-i-can-t-stand-its-a-cheeky-mouse/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children. Some of the teachers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-the-best-teachers-had-a-real-interest-in-the-subject-they/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I enjoy writing for third and fourth graders most of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-enjoy-writing-for-third-and-fourth-graders-most-of-all/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) [Explore all 94 Beverly Cleary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) ## More Kind Gentle quotes > [“Good was above all kind; it was to be gentle. It was to waste nothing. It was to paint, to read, to study, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/good-was-above-all-kind-it-was-to-be-gentle-it-was-to-waste-nothing/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Stuart Murdoch is a really special human being - really creative, but also really kind and gentle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/stuart-murdoch-is-a-really-special-human-being-really-creative-but/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [Real Love Lasts Forever.. It is Kind and Gentle and Everything Appealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-s-voice/real-love-lasts-forever-it-is-kind-and-gentle-and-everything-appealing/) Lisa's Voice > [“be kind and gentle with yourself. Take time out to honour and appreciate your uniqueness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-love-senn/be-kind-and-gentle-with-yourself-take-time-out-to-honour-and/) Katrina Love Senn > [We are all neighbors. Be kind. Be gentle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemantine-wamariya/we-are-all-neighbors-be-kind-be-gentle/) [Clemantine Wamariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemantine-wamariya/) > [In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/in-the-long-run-the-sharpest-weapon-of-all-is-a-kind-and-gentle-spirit/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [You're a wonderful person, Jamie. You're beautiful, you're kind, you're gentle...you're everything that I'd like to be. If people don't like you, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-re-a-wonderful-person-jamie-you-re-beautiful-you-re-kind-you-re/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [It is in my nature to be kind,gentle and loving. But know this: When it comes to matters of protecting my friends, my family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-in-my-nature-to-be-kind-gentle-and-loving-but-know-this-when-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm in love with someone good and kind and gentle, and he's seen the darkness too, but somehow we've become each other's light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-m-in-love-with-someone-good-and-kind-and-gentle-and-he-s-seen-the/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Knowledge is important, but only if we're being kind and gentle with ourselves as we work to discover who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/knowledge-is-important-but-only-if-we-re-being-kind-and-gentle-with/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [You have a good heart and you think the good thing is to be guilty and kind but it's not always kind to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/you-have-a-good-heart-and-you-think-the-good-thing-is-to-be-guilty/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-highly-approve-of-romney-s-decision-to-be-kind-and-gentle-to-the/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“It was really a very simple thing, after all,—it was only that he had lived near a kind and gentle heart, and had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/it-was-really-a-very-simple-thing-after-all-it-was-only-that-he-had/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [“Well, let me tell you... Her highness is not the kind, gentle person you think she is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nozomu-tamaki/well-let-me-tell-you-her-highness-is-not-the-kind-gentle-person-you/) [Nozomu Tamaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nozomu-tamaki/) > [I dont like to hide. I dont like to play superficial phony games. I want to stop playing them. I want ti be genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/i-dont-like-to-hide-i-dont-like-to-play-superficial-phony-games-i/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) Browse all 18 Kind Gentle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on his face from the skin trouble he had when he was younger—his face was agreeable because it was so. . . . What was the word? Kind, perhaps. Or gentle. But strong, too. 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