One of the ways Lee shows that people are essentially good is through the people of Maycomb. When Mrs. Maudie's house catches on fire in the middle of the night Scout sees the community pitching in to save her belongings “The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie's house to a yard across the street. I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie’s heavy old rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most” (Lee, 69) This quote shows that men are not as bad and evil as they come off to be. Even though the town is divided over the court case with Tom Robinson, the people gather around Mrs. Maudie and help her save her precious belongings from the fire. When Scout is watching the community …show more content…
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
Scout and Jem are woken at night to a horrible scene in the neighborhood, “The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and un-dress, took furniture from Miss Maudie’s house to a yard across the street. I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie’s heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most.”(Lee, 92-93) During the middle of the night, Miss Maudie’s house gets caught on fire. Everyone in Maycomb come together to save her furniture and valued items from getting destroyed. They stop the fire from spreading by using teamwork. In this tough time, people in Maycomb come together to solve the
One theme in To KIll a Mockingbird is people are not what they seem. Mrs. Dubose seems like a mean person. She picks on kids like Jem and Scout. She is racist. She is nosey and sticks her nose in other peoples’ business. Under all of that, she is actually struggling. She is addicted to morphine. She resists her addiction in a stubborn, courageous way. Before she dies, she gives Jem a flower as a thank you. To the children, Atticus is quiet and peaceful. He is scholarly and dislikes confrontation. They later found out he is known as the town’s best shot. He also took the Robinson case against the town’s wishes. Later, Atticus delt with the mob calmly to save the man he was defending. This shows that people are not always what they seem.
When Atticus first brings up the subject of Mrs. Dubose, and describes her as a lady, Jem turns scarlet. He is frustrated because he believes that she is not considered a lady for all of the things she has said about Atticus and the person he is defending in court. Atticus then begins to teach Jem that other people have different opinions than what Jem’s opinions are. When Atticus begins to describe the good qualities that Mrs. Dubose had he says, “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” (Lee 122). Atticus is explaining how Mrs. Dubose was struggling with a sickness, but she never gave up. She continued to fight for herself. Atticus is saying that courage does not always come from someone who is fighting for
Mrs. Dubose is an old lady who lives two doors up the street from the Finch's house. Atticus' son, Jem destroyed Mrs. Dubose's flowers because she had said disrespectful things about Atticus which brought out Jem's anger. Even though Atticus was very upset, he does not believe violence is the appropriate way to approach any situation considering it does not teach you valuable lessons. Instead, Jem's punishment was to read to Mrs. Dubose every day for the month and in the end taught him the true meaning of courage. Atticus demonstrates that holding your head up and fists down will save you from more complicated situations. Another example would be when disrespectful Bob Ewell spat on Atticus' face because Atticus made Bob look like a fool during his testimony. Atticus stayed calm during the whole situation. He held his head high and walked away during the scene. Following this further, Atticus sets honorable examples for his children. He believes all people have goodness in their hearts no matter how cruel or heartless they act, even if their status was low, they would have generosity and kindness inside. The first impression of Mrs. Dubose was described as a rude lady. She says to Scout, “Don't you say hey to me, you ugly girl! You say good afternoon, Mrs. Dubose!” (Lee 133). However, Mrs. Dubose is really a kind lady who causes no harm once you get the kindness out of her. In addition, Atticus compliments her and treats her as he would treat any
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose was very mean and said very bad things about Atticus Finch. When Atticus talks about Mrs. Dubose to his children, he says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is… She was the bravest person I ever knew.”(149). Now was Mrs. Dubose really a brave person. While some people might argue that she is because she wasn’t scared to talk about Atticus the way she did, others will argue that Mrs. Dubose is not a very courageous person. First, Mrs. Dubose does talk about Atticus in a very bad way. She even said “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”(135). That could show some courage, but if people were true to themselves, they would realize that anyone can have the courage to say something
According to her, she died beholden to nothing or nobody. She was the bravest person I knew.” (p.149) Jem and Scout don't realize the hardships and struggle Mrs. Dubose is facing by simply choosing to overcome her addiction. Atticus admires and respects Mrs. Dubose for facing her addiction so he uses the example of Mrs.Dubose’s courage to Jem and Scout to show them what real courage is. By reason of her courage Mrs. Dubose died free of her morphine addiction, because she knew it was the right thing to
Dubose, an old woman, confined to her bed in sickness, addicted to morphine to help her pain. In her last months she displayed her courage. Her devotion to become free of her addiction is what made this old woman so notable. Before her death Jem and Scout thought she was a old woman who had gone mad over the years. Until Atticus showed them what Mrs. Dubose's real identity was. He explained to his children that she was one of the bravest people to live in that town. “‘ Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew’”(112). This woman died without a care in the world, her mind was free, and because of that so was she. As she died she was happy. Eventually, the children realized what a wonder Mrs. Dubose was “‘Did she die free?’ asked Jem ‘As the mountain air,’ said Atticus”(110).In the end Mrs. Dubose won her war as courageously as she could.
Dubose, an elder lady who lives in Macomb, was important in the novel because it introduces the themes of forgiveness and courage. Ms. Dubose is an addict, who is shunned by her community. Jem’s desire to help her and have patience with her is more an attempt to bridge the gap between acceptance as individuals and racial undertones. “I wanted you to see something about 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 head” (Lee 149). Atticus explains that courage is a mental decision; he wanted Jem to find true courage in standing up for and defending a person who would otherwise be an outcast.
One character who showed a lot of courage in the story is Mrs. Dubose, who had the courage to face her pain and win against her addiction before she died. According to Atticus, she had been sick for a long time and had to use morphine to stifle the intense pain she felt. This caused
Mrs Dubose did not want to die while addicted to medication so she showed courage while going longer every day; “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 see it through to the end. You rarely win but sometimes you do.” Atticus describes courage as something that you have to
Through Mrs.Dubose, Atticus was able to convey his message to Jem and even says that she is the "bravest person" he has ever meet (Lee 149). Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict but was able to break her addiction. Drug addicts struggle when they break their addiction and sometimes a relapse can happen. Mrs. Dubose was suffering internally but thanks to Jem she was able to overcome. She knew that her addition was painful but she stuck with it.
c. Mrs. Dubose was such a brave person in Atticus's eyes because of her determination
While Mrs. Dubose is only present for a small period of time within the book, she embodies moral courage so much that she is idolized by Atticus. Despite being in her last years of life, Mrs. Dubose was determined to quit her morphine addiction before death, a daunting task that she accomplished. Using Mrs. Dubose as an example, Atticus teaches Jem and Scout that she is “what real courage is” not “a man with a gun in his hand”(pg.112). In addition, Atticus further explains that “beginning when you’re liched anyways” is what makes an action, like Mrs. Dubose’s, courageous (Lee pg.112). Considering that Mrs. Dubose began and accomplished a goal in her dying years purely out of self-respect and her own moral standards, she is easily a prime example of moral
Dubose was a morphine addict who lived across the street from the Finch’s house. Jem does not like her because she always yells rude insults to Jem and Scout. Jem cut up the flowers in her front yard, and as a result, he had to read to Mrs. Dubose every day. “She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe…I wanted you to see something about 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” (112).
The audacious actions executed by Mrs. Dubose are used to illustrate how she is a fundamental character when it comes to demonstrating true courage. Throughout the years Mrs. Dubose was alive she was unafraid to speak her mind knowing that others had their own views and opinions they would later express. The readers are made aware of this during the time when Mrs. Dubose was speaking to Scout and Jem saying,