Why does Jem become angry when Scout tries to ask him about Miss Gates' opinions in To Kill a Mockingbird? Any quotations to back up the response are...

The above
answer is good, but more context is important.andare both furious at Miss Gates, but for
different reasons. Scout is angry at Miss Gates, because Miss Gates does not see something very
clearly. In other words, she has enormous blind spots. She is able to see that Hitler is an evil
leader because he persecutes the Jews, but she is not able to see how those of Maycomb persecute
blacks - especially in the case of Tom Robinson. 

Here is what she says in
class. Her blindness is clear as day. 

We said it. Then
Miss Gates said, Thats the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and
Germany is a dictatorship. Dictator-ship, she said. Over here we dont believe in persecuting
anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice, she enunciated carefully.
There are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesnt think so is a
mystery to me.

What makes her blindness even greater is
that Scout, a mere child, sees her inconsistency. 

Jem is angry when Scout
mentions Miss Gates because he is reminded of the case and how ugly it was. Here is the
text:

Well, coming out of the courthouse that night Miss
Gates wasshe was goin€˜ down the steps in front of us, you musta not seen hershe was talking
with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say its time somebody taught em a lesson, they were
gettin€˜ way above themselves, an the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how
can you hate Hitler so bad an€˜ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home

Jem was suddenly furious. He leaped
off the bed, grabbed me by the collar and shook me. I never wanta hear about that courthouse
again, ever, ever, you hear me? You hear me? Dont you ever say one word to me about it again,
you hear? Now go on!

For Jem, Miss Gates represents the
sheer racism of the town. For this reason, Jem is angry.