Perseverance In To Kill A Mockingbird

Through her determination to die free of morphine, Mrs. Dubose suffers tremendously from withdrawal showing that mental courage is more difficult to obtain than physical courage. Mrs. Dubose is a morphine addict who appears to be a racist based off of her interactions with Jem and Scout regarding Atticus’ defense of Tom Robinson. In a state of anger, Jem destroys Mrs. Dubose's camellias, and has to read to her for a whole month as a punishment. During this time, the children witnessed the pain that Mrs. Dubose has to endure from not using morphine, yet they could not see her goal and considered her to be disgusting, rather than to show her sympathy for her decision. By the end of her life, Mrs. Dubose has “died beholden to nothing and nobody” (149), she experienced true freedom before she passed away. Mrs. Dubose did

As the predominant idol to Jem and Scout over the course of the novel, Atticus demonstrates that the ambitions people achieve deserve commemoration, even if their activities and stances are contentious. After vandalizing the entirety of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bush garden, Jem attempts to justify his stunt to Atticus. Citing Mrs. Dubose’s appalling insults directed towards his father, Jem firmly believes that he is vindicated from any form of punishment. Consequently, Atticus makes it mandatory for Jem to read for Mrs. Dubose for over a month. After Jem finished his exercise, Atticus informs his children of Mrs. Dubose’s death roughly one month later. Revealing that Mrs. Dubose had an addiction to morphine, Atticus highlights that she retained

Courage can mean being adventurous or doing something by yourself for the first time. Real courage is having perseverance, determination and doing what you believe in. According to Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, real courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, and Atticus show their courage by never giving up when things get tough or being afraid of going against societal norms.

She meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did”(111). Although Mrs. Dubose was a cantankerous old lady who disapproved of Atticus defending Tom, she and Mr. Finch had something in common. They both shared similar views when it came to showing courage to overcome a task. Atticus’ lesson applies here as well. “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.

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.

Ms. Dubose is shown to be a significant character that displays the power of inner strength. She is a morphine addict that through Jem’s reading, successfully manages to combat this addiction. For a long time she has faced the world sick and alone, but what makes her a courageous person is her ability to recognize her weakness and even more to do something about it. Even though she knows she is dying soon, she neglects her own

However, she is extremely strong-willed and "contrary." As a struggling morphine addict, Mrs. Dubose should "have spent the rest of her life on [morphine] and died without agony. " Instead, she is "determined to leave this world beholden to nothing or nobody." The decision to quit using morphine will cause Mrs. Dubose great suffering; it is also likely to be an unsuccessful effort.

Mrs. Dubose quitting her addiction proves to the kids they should do what's right. Mrs. Dubose’s was so weak that, while others would’ve taken an easier, painless death, she “meant to break herself [of the drug] before she died...to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody” (Lee 148) out of pride. By Mrs. Dubose deciding to take the hard way of death, she established that just because something might be easier to do, it doesn't make it right. Relating to Jem and Scout by revealing to them that they shouldn’t become like the other people on town and start to think negatively about the trial just because it's easier to hate instead of defend. Mrs. Dubose had such a strong courage that it made Atticus “want [Jem and Scout] to see what real

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

Courage is to accept a challenge when the results are inevitably going to end with the odds against the one taking the challenge. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, three specific situations show how the characters in the book showed no fear at all towards their future fate. These three situations are when Mrs. Dubose is well aware that she would die soon, Dill running far away from home, and the trial with Atticus defending Tom Robinson against the charge of rape. The very first courageous act is when Mrs. Dubose no longer wanted to be addicted to the morphine that killed her pain.

The theme that courage is persevering through every challenge is shown when Mrs. Dubose dies free from her addiction to morphine. Jem Finch had been reading to Mrs. Dubose, a mean, old neighbor of his, to make up for ruining her garden. Jem had always thought of Mrs. Dubose as a sick, scary lady, but Atticus Finch, Jem’s father, informs him that Mrs. Dubose was actually a very brave and strong person. During her life, she became addicted to morphine; Mrs. Dubose promised herself she would die clean. When Mrs. Dubose did pass away, she was no longer taking morphine. Atticus explains Mrs. Dubose’s courage when he states, “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” (Lee, 61). Atticus is explaining that courage isn’t just “a man with a gun in his hand”. Courage is much more than that. Atticus is stating that courage is never giving up even if you encounter struggles and difficulties. Atticus’s words prove that courage is when you know you might not succeed but you don’t stop trying. Mrs. Dubose knew it would be difficult for her to stop using morphine, but she swore she would. She ended up dying clean from the drug because no matter what, she never gave up and never stopped trying. Through it

Atticus admires Mrs. Dubose and thinks that she is brave although she is addicted to morphine. Mr. Dubose knows that she is hopeless from her addiction but she continues to live and hear Scout reads to her day by day which prove that she is not only strong but also a self-motivator to never give up no matter how hard is the challenge. The contrast between how Atticus and Scout think about Mrs. Dubose. Being able to self-motivate in a situation where death is near can be a hard part for most of our people today because of how living in a world can where you can't go no place, and can't do anything it's really much like inner death instead of physical. Some people like Mrs. Dubose did go over their sickness by believing in them self and work

Courage is defined as "the quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or opposition with fearlessness." According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (pg.121). Harper Lee clearly portrays the theme of courage in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. One likes to think of a hero, as strong, brave, and meeting all challenges head on. All the characters in this book have a different view as to what courage

Courage is strength. Courage is honesty. Courage is standing one’s ground no matter what. Courage is standing up for others. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem Finch, along with their father Atticus, live in Maycomb County, a small, mainly racist town in Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finch family’s neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus display acts of personal courage in the story. Specifically, Mrs. Dubose displays courage in her honesty and strength, and Atticus displays courage in his responses to racism based threats and keeping others safe.