--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under…" description: "\"“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.”\" — Harper Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png" --- # Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and… ![“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png) > ““Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.”” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character named Jem is described as frightening, hiding under steps and screaming intermittently. **In simple terms:** Jem is portrayed as scary and erratic. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden fears in others. Themes fear behavior characterization Mood somber analytical Type literary observational When to use this quote - reading - teaching - parenting - mental health awareness Key Concepts psychology literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What does Jem's behavior reveal about his inner state? - How does fear manifest in different people? A Different Perspective The description may exaggerate for effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Howled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howled-786469/) [Howled Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howled-time-5502167/) [Jem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jem/) [Shrieked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrieked/) [Shrieked Howled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrieked-howled-5502165/) [Steps Shrieked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps-shrieked-5502166/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-a-child-asks-you-something-answer-him-for-goodness-sake/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Turtles don't feel, stupid," said Jem. "Were you ever a turtle, huh?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/turtles-don-t-feel-stupid-said-jem-were-you-ever-a-turtle-huh/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [If this thing's hushed up it'll be a simple denial to Jem of the way I've tried to raise him. Sometimes I think I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/if-this-thing-s-hushed-up-it-ll-be-a-simple-denial-to-jem-of-the-way/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [We said good-bye, and Dill went inside the house. He evidently remembered he was engaged to me, for he ran back out and kissed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/we-said-good-bye-and-dill-went-inside-the-house-he-evidently/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [As I made my way home, I thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else for us to learn, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/as-i-made-my-way-home-i-thought-jem-and-i-would-get-grown-but-there/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [See there?" Jem was scowling triumphantly. "Nothin' to it. I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl its mortifyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/see-there-jem-was-scowling-triumphantly-nothin-to-it-i-swear-scout/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [No, everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowin'. That Walter's as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-everybody-s-gotta-learn-nobody-s-born-knowin-that-walter-s-as/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-he-was-nearly-thirteen-my-brother-jem-got-his-arm-badly-broken/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/he-turned-out-the-light-and-went-into-jem-s-room-he-would-be-there/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Calpurnia evidently remembered a rainy Sunday when we were both fatherless and teacherless. Let to its own devices, the class tied Eunice Ann Simpson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/calpurnia-evidently-remembered-a-rainy-sunday-when-we-were-both/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i-ve-got-to-live-with-myself/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-was-not-so-sure-but-jem-told-me-i-was-being-a-girl-that-girls/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/before-jem-looks-at-anyone-else-he-looks-at-me-and-i-ve-tried-to-live/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I had never thought about it, but summer was Dill by the fishpool smoking string, Dill's eyes alive with complicated plans to make Boo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-had-never-thought-about-it-but-summer-was-dill-by-the-fishpool/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/shoot-all-the-blue-jays-you-want-if-you-can-hit-em-but-remember-it-s/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Jem quotes > [Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-closed-his-eyes-he-could-not-hear-jem-go-not-anymore-he-did-not/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Charlotte, Will’s being vexing.' 'And the sun has come up in the east,' said Jem, to no one in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/charlotte-will-s-being-vexing-and-the-sun-has-come-up-in-the-east/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I designed a guitar for Ibanez and then they started manufacturing it - it's called the Jem - it's 26 years old and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vai/i-designed-a-guitar-for-ibanez-and-then-they-started-manufacturing-it/) [Steve Vai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vai/) > [“The first question sobbed out by his choking voice, oppressed with emotion, was-- "Where is she?" They led him to the room where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/the-first-question-sobbed-out-by-his-choking-voice-oppressed-with/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [A great sadness welled up in Magnus at the sight of him. It was human to age and die, and Jem stood outside that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/a-great-sadness-welled-up-in-magnus-at-the-sight-of-him-it-was-human/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Reparations,” said Jem very suddenly, setting down the pen he was holding. Will looked at him in puzzlement. “Is this a game? We just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/reparations-said-jem-very-suddenly-setting-down-the-pen-he-was/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [You think she is pretty?' Will was surprised; Jem rarely opined this sort of thing. 'Yes, and you do too.' 'I hadn't noticed, really.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/you-think-she-is-pretty-will-was-surprised-jem-rarely-opined-this/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He looked from Will to Tessa and raised his silvery eyebrows. "A miracle," he said. "You got him to speak." "Just to shout at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-looked-from-will-to-tessa-and-raised-his-silvery-eyebrows-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The Brother's hood fell back, and his silvery hair shone out in the dim chamber like starlight. All the air rushed out of Tessa's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/the-brother-s-hood-fell-back-and-his-silvery-hair-shone-out-in-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-a-child-asks-you-something-answer-him-for-goodness-sake/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [He would look so young. They were both so young. Tessa knew it was unusual to marry at seventeen and eighteen, but they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-would-look-so-young-they-were-both-so-young-tessa-knew-it-was/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Do you remember when we stood together on Blackfriars Bridge?” he asked softly, and his eyes were like that night had been, all black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/do-you-remember-when-we-stood-together-on-blackfriars-bridge-he-asked/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [We spoke of how to say good-bye,” Jem said. “When Jonathan bid farewell to David, he said, ‘Go in peace, for as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/we-spoke-of-how-to-say-good-bye-jem-said-when-jonathan-bid-farewell/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [ \[Jem\] 'It will help you sleep.' 'All I’ve been doing is sleeping!' \[Tessa\] 'And very amusing it is to watch, said Jem. 'Did you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/jem-it-will-help-you-sleep-all-i-ve-been-doing-is-sleeping-tessa-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I had never thought about it, but summer was Dill by the fishpool smoking string, Dill's eyes alive with complicated plans to make Boo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-had-never-thought-about-it-but-summer-was-dill-by-the-fishpool/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Browse all 172 Jem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jem/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the-front-steps-and-shrieked-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jem" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the-front-steps-and-shrieked-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/harper-lee-451_jem_jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the_692906.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.” — Harper Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harper Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the-front-steps-and-shrieked-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the-front-steps-and-shrieked-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```