To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, narrates the life of Scout Finch, a six-year-old girl who lives in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Over her summer, she and her older brother Jem make friends with Dill, and the party takes an interest in Boo (Arthur) Radley, a man rumored to be locked up in the Radley house by his older brother. They play games about him but are soon confronted by Scout and Jem's father, Atticus, to respect him as they do others. Later, the Finch family is mocked because Atticus, a lawyer, was defending a black man, Tom Robinson, in law. Even though he loses because of the prejudiced views of people in Maycomb, Atticus has hopes that they will overcome their prejudice because a jury member, one of the Cunninghams, hesitates for a good while before declaring Tom guilty. Later, Scout and Jem realize that just like Boo Radley, Tom can also be seen as an innocent mockingbird, who did nothing but good yet get rejected by society.
Throughout the novel, a minor yet important character, Mrs. Dubose, is depicted as a great lady of courage and determination. Mrs. Dubose, unlike most people, boldly and successfully attempts to stop her morphine addiction, even though it hurts, before she passes away. In the novel, according to Scout and Jem, Mrs. Dubose is seen as a horrible woman, especially when she forces them to read to her every day for two hours for a month after Jem destroys her camellia bushes. Because of the insults she would hurl at Scout and Jem after school about Atticus defending a black man, Jem gets angry and destroys her front lawn, causing Mrs. Dubose to punish him by making him read to her each day. While both Scout and Jem despise the time spent with her every day reading to her, after she passes away, Atticus tells them how she wanted Jem to read to her because she wished to stop her morphine addiction before dying from illness. Reading helped her prevent and lessen her morphine addiction so that she could die freely, beholden to nothing and nobody: “She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. Jem, when you’re sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did.” (Lee 11). While morphine could help ease her pain, she didn’t want to die of her morphine addiction, so she tried to stop it through reading. Mrs. Dubose was courageous and determined to face and stop her morphine addiction, even though she knew that doing so would hurt. One of the ways Mrs. Dubose shows her greatness as a lady is through her bravery and determination to end her addiction before passing away.
In the novel, the major difference in the way Jem and Scout see Mrs. Dubose at the beginning and at the end emphasizes how she is a great lady, especially after other people learn more about her. At first, when Scout sees her on the front porch, she narrates in her own perspective how Mrs. Dubose was a revolting, horrible old lady, purely from looking at her appearance. “She was horrible. Her face was the color of a dirty pillowcase, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wetness, which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin. Old-age liver spots dotted her cheeks, and her pale eyes had black pinpoint pupils.” (Lee 11). Scout describes Mrs. Dubose in ways that depict her as a horrible person from looking at her mere appearance. While she is only an old and sick woman, Scout and Jem are influenced by stereotypes and the way she hurls insults at their father to believe that she is in all ways bad. Atticus, on the other hand, who has practiced law and knows more than to judge someone completely by their appearance, later tells Jem and Scout how Mrs. Dubose is a great lady, and how she managed to completely let go of her morphine addiction before she passed away from illness. Later, this also changes how Scout and Jem see her: ‘“If you hadn’t fallen into her hands, I’d have made you go read to her anyway. It may have been some distraction. There was another reason – ” “Did she die free?” asked Jem.”’ (Lee 11). While his reaction isn’t obvious and direct, Jem can be seen to grow more interested in her and at the same time, care more about Mrs. Dubose, especially when Atticus tells of her greatness from a broader perspective. The contrast between Jem and Scout’s perspectives of Mrs. Dubose before and after, from bad to good, highlights her greatness in character.
While Mrs. Dubose’s mean comments and insults she hurls at Atticus in front of Jem and Scout are rude and prejudiced, it also shows her firmness in believing in her own opinions. Not only does Mrs. Dubose believe in her own opinions, but this is also reflected in her bold decision to give up her morphine addiction. At the start of the chapter, Mrs. Dubose is hated by Scout and Jem, especially because of the rude insults she hurls at them about Atticus and how he is defending a black man in court. “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers! Yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I'll tell you! Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Lee 11). While Mrs. Dubose, just like most of the townspeople in Maycomb, is prejudiced against race and hurls mean insults at Atticus, she also expresses her boldness and firmness in believing her own thoughts, and not letting anyone else bend her mind. This characteristic is also shown when Mrs. Dubose makes the bold decision to stop and end her morphine addiction before she dies. “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,” said Atticus. “She took it as a painkiller for years. The doctor put her on it. She’d have spent the rest of her life on it and died without so much agony, but she was too contrary—” (Lee 11). Mrs. Dubose believed in herself and her own moral rights when it came to stopping her morphine addiction. Mrs. Dubose is always fixated on her own opinions. While being more open-minded could improve her character majorly, her firm attitude also emphasizes how she truly and completely believes in herself.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, centers on the life of Scout Finch and the many happenings in Maycomb. In the novel, Mrs. Dubose shows her greatness as a lady in many aspects, including her boldness and courage in stopping her morphine addiction, her firmness in opinions and moral rights, and her strong belief in herself. Mrs. Dubose, while often hated by Jem and Scout, is said by Atticus to be a great lady who made the bold decision to end her morphine addiction before she died. “She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody..” (Lee 11). Other than bravely stopping her morphine addiction, as much as it pains to do so, Mrs. Dubose’s greatness is also emphasized through Jem and Scout’s major change of perspective and opinion on her. Before, when influenced by her appearance and stereotypes, Scout and Jem had hated Mrs. Dubose. However, after they learn about her addiction from Atticus, they grow interested in her and can be seen to care about her a whole lot more. While hurling prejudiced insults at Atticus in front of the children is extremely rude, Mrs. Dubose is also shown to be firm and believes in herself through this characteristic. Her strong belief in herself is not only reflected in her firm opinion on Atticus, but also in a good way, where she believes that she could end her morphine addiction before passing away.
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