How Did Mrs. Dubose So Difficult To Die Free Of Morphine?

Atticus considers Mrs. Dubose to be one of the most courageous people he has ever met. The children see her as the old neighbour lady who never has anything nice to say. Atticus explains to the children that Mrs. Dubose is a struggling morphine addict and is trying her best to break that addiction, even if it kills her. He tells them, "I wanted you to see what real courage is... It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and

Atticus makes Jem think about how he would feel if he was in Mrs. Dubose place, and what he would do. Mrs. Dubose really did no damage and because of her illness, Atticus makes it clear to Jem that she represents bravery, and that she was tougher than anyone he knew. Day after day, as Jem kept reading to Mrs. Dubose, he felt empathy towards her and matured as a person.

An important event in the middle of the text that helps prove this is when Mrs. Dubose enlists Jem’s help in overcoming her morphine addiction. While Jem is reading to her, Mrs. Dubose has a fit and is in a lot of pain, “Something had happened to her. She lay on her back, with the quilts up to her chin. Only her head and shoulders were visible. Her head moved slowly from side to side. From time to time she would open her mouth wide, and I could see her tongue undulate faintly.” (142, Lee) In this passage, it becomes clear that Mrs. Dubose is sick and is in a lot of pain because she is sick. This shows how strong she is and it evokes compassion and empathy in an audience because the readers know that it is not fun to be sick and in pain and can relate to some of what Mrs. Dubose is going through. Another event in the middle of the text that helps prove this is when Mrs. Dubose dies and her death is explained to Scout and Jem. Atticus explains, “She’s not suffering anymore. She was sick for a long time. Son didn’t you know what her fits were?’ Jem shook his head. ‘Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict.” (Lee 147) Atticus’ words in this passage shows that Mrs. Dubose was a strong person because she overcame her drug addiction. The audience knows that addictions are hard to beat, but Mrs. Dubose managed to do it. This makes the audience empathetic because they

Jem learns from visiting Mrs. Dubose that not everything is how it seems at first glance. He also learns the value of courage and how it will later affect him as he matures into an adult. From what is described, the readers can draw a conclusion that Mrs. Dubose is impolite and bitter towards the children and is not afraid to speak her thoughts about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. As a result, Jem carries out his anger by destroying her flowers. He is later punished by Atticus by having to read to Mrs. Dubose certain days of the week for a period of time and work on her flowers. Through this process Jem is able to control his impulses and show kindness to those around him even if he does necessarily want to. This shows that Jem is becoming more of a young adult rather than a child. He also realizes that Mrs. Dubose is actually a woman of

Atticus’s son, Jem, finds trouble with Mrs. Dubose; this caused a change in her character. Jem becomes angry with Mrs. Dubose because of her comments about Atticus to him and Scout; out of anger Jem “cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (103). When Atticus became aware of Jem’s actions he sent him down the street to apologize to Mrs. Dubose for what he had done. As a punishment, Mrs. Dubose asked that Jem to come to her home and read to her every day for a month. As asked Jem did bringing Scout along each day. After a month had went by Jem was asked to continue coming to read to her. Jem was not a fan of the idea but he did not want to disappoint Atticus so he did as he told him. Later, after Mrs. Dubose passes away, Jem is informed of why the reading was important to Mrs. Dubose. She had a morphine addiction and reading to her was helping her to break her habit. Jem

Dubose to teach a lesson of courage and strength in a form that is not immediately clear to the reader. While most of the town sees Mrs. Dubose as a crotchety old woman it later becomes clear to the reader that she was never a truly bad lady. After her death Atticus explains to his children, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand… She was the bravest person I ever knew” (128). Mrs. Dubose’s addiction affects only her temporary behavior. While she does not approve of Atticus, most of the insults said to his children are not sincere. If she truly believes her words, she will not allow them into her life. Atticus does not want his children referring to his shooting of the mad dog as a courageous act. The “real courage” he is speaking of is facing a situation with knowledge that negative consequences will occur. Mrs. Dubose knows that ending her addiction will cause pain in her life, but she continues to do what she believes is right. As a result, her fortitude is passed on to Jem and Scout. She was born as a good person, and she died as a good person. Additionally, Mrs. Dubose is an example of determination and tenacity. Atticus explains to Jem, “She meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did” (127). When she realizes she is addicted to morphine, it is Mrs. Dubose’s intention to free herself of it before her death. She recognizes a flaw in her life that needs to be fixed. Jem and Scout provide distraction to help achieve this. With their assistance, she is able to survive longer periods of time between each administration of her addictive painkiller. Most people would choose to surrender and die relatively free of suffering, but Mrs. Dubose continues to fight until she reaches her end goal. She pays little attention to her physical pain, but more to following her moral values and overcoming something she believes

Dubose to show that people are essentially good. “You know, she was a great lady….She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee, 115-116). Despite her ugly and outspoken racism Mrs. Dubose is a courageous and strong woman. She forgave Jem for ruining her flowers even though the flowers were very meaningful and special to her. “She was a lady. She had her own view about things, a lot different from mine, maybe...son, I wanted you to read to her because I wanted you to learn something from her. I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. She broke her addiction to morphine, which was a very hard thing to do. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (Lee, 149). She could’ve taken the easy way out and died pain free, but she decided that she was going to reach her goal no matter what. Atticus showed his integrity by not responding back with hateful comments back to Mrs. Dubose whenever she insulted him. Despite Mrs. Dubose’s racist comments towards the Finch family, she was a forgiving and kind lady till the

Everyone has the potential for courage, however, not everyone takes advantage of it. Imagine the nerd taking advantage of talking to the pretty girl in the lunch-room and compare it to not taking the chance. Similarly, in Harper Lee’s story,”To Kill a Mockingbird”, characters employ their wits in order to overcome adversity. Frankly, when used, courage can help with the impossible.

Dubose’s house they were met with a very strong odor, with her brass bed, a washstand with tons of medical equipment. Every so often an alarm clock went off and Jessie rushed them out because it was time for her medicine. Eventually Atticus had told the kids that she had passed away. Atticus explained that she was a morphine addict and she took it for years as a pain killer. Quote in context Mrs. Dubose wanted to leave without owing something to someone. Normally people would take medicine to help with pain, but not her. She wanted to break her morphine addiction before she died and she did. Atticus explained that courage was “its when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. Proper quote And that represents the theme courage means fighting for what is right, no matter how difficult it seems, because she fought to do the right thing before she died, which was quitting an addiction even though it was a difficult and long thing to work for theme quote represents. By Atticus agreeing with Mrs. Dubose at having Jem read taught him the actual meaning of courage and how even though Mrs. Dubose was always critiquing them and being rude that she had more courage than most people

Jem hates Mrs.Dubose because of the mean things that she says about Atticus and the trial. After she dies they all learn that she was a morphine addict and that’s why she was always so hostile and negative (for the most part). “ … Son, didn’t you know know what here fits were?’. Jem shook his head ‘Mrs.Dubose was a morphine addict,” (Lee 147). Atticus helps Jem step into Mrs.Dubose shoes as he tries to understand what she was going through. “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 meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did,” (Lee 148). Now that Jem has this information, he has a chance to really internalize it. Next Atticus’s influence helps Scout to empathy for Mayella during the

When he found out what happened, Atticus was angry. He wasn’t angry at Mrs. Dubose for insulting him, but at Jem for not respecting her property. Now, Atticus appoints Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose for an entire month. After the month ends, the kids learn that Mrs. Dubose had died. Atticus explains to the kids

Dubose. As a punishment, for killing Mrs. Dubose’s flowers, Jem had to read to her for one month, and Scout decided to tag along. Everyday while reading an alarm clock would go off, and Mrs. Dubose’s caretaker would make them go home. Everyday they would have to read for longer and longer. After Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus tells the kids that Mrs. Dubose was addicted to morphine and she wanted to die free from it.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows Ms. Dubose’s certainty and doubt. In chapter 11, Atticus is talking to Jem and Scout about Ms. Dubose’s death and said, "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." Even though she was a morphine addict and slowly dying, she was certain to die her way. She could have doubted her strength against the drug, yet she fought through it. Jem read to her everyday as a punishment for losing his head and helped her focus to stay awake. It was because of her certainty that she obtained her goal of dying in her own way.

Dubose dies Atticus is trying to teach Jem a lesson about courage, Atticus uses Mrrs. Dubose as an example, she is a sick cranky old lady who later dies. After Mrs. Dubose dies Atticus tells Jem, “ I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real change is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won… to her views she died beholden to nothing and nobody.”(149) What Atticus means to say is that courage is standing up to what you believe in, Mrs. Dubose was always saying negative things about Atticus and his case with Tom Robinson, the black man. Atticus shows Jem that courage is not strength, it is about standing up to what you believe in. It is a rare quality to have but a great to know when something big is going to

" This quote is in reference to Mrs. Dubose. She is struggling with a Morphine addiction, and to help her overcome it before she passed away Atticus requested Jem to read to her. The kids did not know about this; they were only aware of Mrs. Dubose going senile and having crazy fits. Her attempt to try and stop her addiction until she died is a testament to her courage. She knew that she may not win the battle against herself or her addiction, but she tried