In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what are Jem's thoughts during the time Mrs. Dubose died, and how does her death affect him? What are some...

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem at first feels as tormented by Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose in death as in life.

In Chapter 11,  Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose had asked Jem to read to her to distract her from her withdrawal symptoms as she weaned her way off of her morphine addiction. Atticus then hands Jem a box from Mrs. Dubose; it is a box of candy containing a Snow-on-the Mountain camellia nestled in cotton. Even after Atticus's explanation, Jem's response at seeing the camellia is rather violent and displays how tormented he had felt by Mrs. Dubose: Jem immediately screams, "Old hell-devil, old hell-devil ... Why can't she leave me alone?" and flings the box and flower down to the floor. However, once Atticus further explains why he saw her as a "great lady" and the "bravest person [he] ever knew," Jem begins seeing her differently and significantly changing as a result of his insights.

As Atticus explains, Mrs. Dubose was brave because she decided that she would die "beholden to nothing and nobody," not even to morphine despite the fact that the pain from her illness made the use of morphine understandable. Once Jem begins to see Mrs. Dubose as having been a great and brave lady, he begins wanting other girls around him to emulate her, such as Scout. Hence, one way in which we see Jem change as a result of Mrs. Dubose's death is that he begins to frown upon Scout's tomboyishness, shouting at her, "It's time you started bein' a girl and acting right!," making her cry (Ch. 12).

In addition, Scout describes Jem as having "acquired a maddening air of wisdom" since he now can understand and explain things she cannot.

All in all, Jem's experience with better understanding Mrs. Dubose after her death helped Jem to mature.