To Kill a Mockingbird 10-11

In chapter 10 when when Jem spotted old Tim Johnson and told Scout that "We better go home" and she replied, "Aw Jem, its February" I got a bit confused at first because so what if its only February? Then I realized as I kept reading that they must've been saying that the dog had rabies/fleas. After Atticus shot the dog Jem was like in a state of shock because, he never knew his dad could do that. It mustve changed Jem a bit, especially because he had just gotten into guns. Also in the closing line of chapter 10 Jem states, "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me". I think Jem meant it to be the other way around. In the ending part of chapter 11, I feel like it was the perfect ending of a life lesson for Scout and Jem especially. Jem hadnt really gotten to know Ms. Dubose that much and because of that he only knew that he had to hate her because she stated things that offend him, but Jem just didnt know the other half of her. He didnt understand and thats why Atticus is such an important character in this novel, because he practically translates everything that Scout narrates, into words that have a greater meaning then what Scout makes it out to be.