How do we learn about James selflessness?

Over the course of the novel, James grows and changes. Friendship exposes his selfless nature, and when he is surrounded by friends, Jame is willing to face his fears and take chances: for instance, he musters the confidence to plunge from the peach and save Centipede from the Atlantic Ocean. James grows by facing fearful circumstances, while the dark predictions of one of the novel's most fearful characters, Earthworm, are almost never fulfilled.