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How to kill a mockingbird character analysis essay
To kill a mockingbird analysis essay
Character analysis to kill a mocking bird atticus finch
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In To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee, Jem and Scout encounter Mrs. Dubose a heartless cruel person who lives near them. Mrs. Dubose an elderly neighbor of Jem and Scout, always seems to obstruct their path. She is mean and seems bitter to the point where not even Jem can take it. However, Jem’s outrage leds to him having to read to Mrs. Dubose every day for 2 hours. From this experience Jem learns many things and one stands out the most. Mrs. Dubose is a opinionated neighbor who helps Jem see the importance of perseverance. Mrs. Dubose has demonstrated perseverance to Jem in many ways. The first way she presented this was when Jem had to read to her. Mrs. Dubose’s addiction to morphine has impacted her dramatically. She has withdrawal symptoms …show more content…
Her way to cope with this is by having Jem read to her. This helps her take her mind off of morphine and get her through her withdrawal attacks. When Atticus is talking to Jem, Atticus tells Jem about Mrs. Dubose, Jem also tells Atticus that Mrs. Dubose wants Jem to read to her. “Jem, she’s old and ill…. She wants me to read to her” (Lee 140). Mrs. Dubose is sick and this is her way of rehab and treatment. Without this way of therapy, she may go back to morphine which she has swore not to do ever again. Jem reading to her every Saturday is a way of distracting her from her problem. Mrs. Dubose is not allowing herself to fall back into her old ways and is being stubborn towards her addiction. Another time Mrs. Dubose demonstrates this is when Scout realizes they have been staying at her house longer and longer each day. “It suddenly came to me that each day we had been staying a little longer at …show more content…
Dubose shows perseverance is when Atticus tells Jem about her history. Jem and Scout start to understand what Mrs. Dubose has had to go thorough and why she is the person she is today. Atticus is talking to Jem and Scout about Mrs. Dubose past and what she has gone through. “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict…. She had spent the rest of her life on it and died without so much agony” said Atticus. (Lee 147). Jem now understands more about why Mrs. Dubose is the way she is, he is beginning to see that she has been suffering to stay off of morphine. This shows that Mrs. Dubose was determined and set a goal to change her ways. Mrs. Dubose’s goal was to die without being on morphine, this would take determination and would have to overcome addictions and cravings. Despite the pain Mrs. Dubose is feeling, she continues to fight the battles with her addiction, she may lose some battles but is determined to win the war. She may struggle with keeping herself sober but is willing to give up so much to reach her goal. This would be hard for anyone to do and would take lots of work, Mrs. Dubose has put in that work to achieve the best outcome before she dies. This also helps Jem and Scout see what true courage is, they now understand that life can be tough but have to push and strive to reach
They saw Mrs.Dubose more as Tom Robinson’s case outbreaks into court. Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus is defending, so every work day Atticus walks past Mrs.Dubose house. Which is “two doors up the street… with steep front steps and a dog trot-hall.” It was not until Jem needed to read to her, when him and Scout got to go inside of her house. “An oppressive odor met us when we crossed the threshold… In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the brass bed was Mrs.Dubose… There was a marble-topped washstand by her bed.” In her house, Jem begins to leave his safety at home and face society's disapproval, which is symbolically represented as Mrs.Dubose. She represents the racism of the Old South, and Jem had to face his problems as he begins to come of age as a mature man.
Mrs. Dubose is a bitter, old lady that is extremely rude to Scout and Jem, yelling dirty thing at them everytime they pass by her house. Jem hatred for that woman was so short, that one day he grabbed Scout’s baton and lost his temper, Scout explains that “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned…” (137). As a punishment for his sudden outrage, Mrs. Dubose asks that he read for her everyday and they learn things about her along the way. They described that “...From time to time she would open her mouth wide...cords of saliva would collect at her lips...Her mouth seemed to have private existence of its own” (143). Later on in the chapter, Atticus reveals that she was a morphine addict
“She had never told on us, had never played cat-and-mouse with us, she was not at all interested in our private lives. She was our friend.” (Lee 59) This was how Scout described Miss Maudie, Scout was explaining her perspective of herself and that she wants to be treated like an adult and that the only one to do so was Miss Maudie. Consequently, this helps the readers understand Scout. Also, Miss Maudie helps to develop Jem’s character by giving him a big cake when he’s supposed to have a small one like Scout and Dill. This shows that she doesn’t consider him a kid anymore which reflects Jem’s journey to adulthood throughout the book. “I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them.” (Lee 288) This quote was Miss Maudie’s way of explaining to Jem and Scout what their father’s job was, in other words, what his character’s job was. Miss Maudie’s quotes and actions were able to help the characterization of the main
When Atticus discovered what Jem had done, he was furious and punished him by making him go read to Mrs. Dubose everyday. He knew, though, in his heart that she had it coming. Atticus had told Scout that "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things it's not fair for you and Jem, but
To begin with, Jem and Scout determine that courage means doing what is right, even if it involves life threatening risks. In chapter eleven, Jem Finch, has ruined the patches of Mrs. Dubose’s lovely camellias. As soon as Atticus has heard of Jem’s little act of rebellion, he gives Mrs. Dubose the opportunity of deciding Jem’s punishment. Specifically, she establishes that Jem shall read to her every day after school. After Jem has finished his retribution, Atticus informs him of Mrs. Dubose’s death. As a result, Atticus speaks of Mrs. Dubose’s bravery. Jem starts to ask his father why he thinks this of Mrs. Dubose. Atticus replies, “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” (Lee 112). Accordingly, Atticus is trying to show that heroism comes from the people who do what their gut says is right, because that is courage. Mrs. Dubose wanted to die a pure woman instead of someone who had an addiction, which she successfully succeeded in. Another example of courage comes from when Atticus ta...
Dubose bravely tried to break her addiction to morphine. Even though she knew there is a small chance of success, she tried it anyway. Her addition was getting worst day by day, but she slowly understood that she could get rid of it by diverting her attention to different things. When Jem use to come to her house and read the books the duration of time was getting a bit longer every day. The amount of time was increasing every day. Atticus describes her as the bravest person he knew. He describes courage, “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Lee, 149). Atticus explains Jem how great was Mrs.
On her inevitable death bed, Mrs. Dubose is honest with herself, and the Finch children, which leads to Scout’s realization of how she must act: “We could do nothing to please her. Lee uses Atticus’ good nature and respect for people to promote the theme; being strong in one’s beliefs and honest sets a good example for society: “‘First of all,’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view,” (Lee 39) Atticus indicates.
"…[Mrs. Dubose] had her own views about things, a lot different from mine… 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. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what…" (112). This is said by Atticus after Jem asks why Atticus makes him read to her. Atticus explains to Jem that Mrs. Dubose is a very courageous person and has the heart of a champion. And in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mrs. Dubose symbolizes a strong mind, the will and determination to never give up, and audacity.
Then Scout encounters the seeming vindictiveness of Mrs. Dubose. After this she dies, Atticus explains to them how courageous the lady was because she knew she was dying but was determined to die free of morphine which had preciously controlled her. She fought against great odds, even though she knew that she would lose. The above lesser experiences prepare Scout for the greater test of Courage: the is Atticus’ fight for Tom’s life even though he knows that he will lose the case and even though he knows that he is fighting against tremendous odds. This realization forces Scout to quit fighting with her fists and try to combat others opinions with her head rather than her physical violence.
By fighting with her head, it can save Scout from a lot of trouble. One of the most valuable life lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is about courage. Courage is not always physical, it can be mental too. After Mrs. Dubose passes away, Atticus tells Jem she was the bravest person he knew. Atticus says," According to Mrs. Dubose views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody” (page 149).
Dubose. Boo Radley lives all alone in his house and is misunderstood by the town. “He wants to stay inside.”(304) He gets really nervous around people, that 's why he doesn 't like to be around people and only goes out in the dark. Mayella is a very lonely girl by how her father treats her and she has no friends. She hasn 't had someone treat her nicely at all, “Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley.” (256) This shows that even Boo Radley wasn 't as lonely as Mayella because no one has ever said a nice thing to her. Mrs. Dubose is lonely in a different way then the other two, she felt alone because everyone is scared or hated her. “According to her views, she died beholden and nobody.”(149) Before she died, she was able to let Jem and Scout into her heart because they help her finish her goal, not to die a morphed addict. These people faced loneliness and most of these people found themselves with at least one person who cared about their
Among many things, Miss Maudie teaches Scout that she should not judge people based solely on rumors she might hear about them. Scout, being only six years old at the time of the story, believes everything that reaches her hears and takes most things literally. Rumors she hears about a man named Boo Radley, who many consider the town freak because of his different lifestyle and because nobody ever sees him, create in her the belief that he is a crazy maniac. The activities she takes part in with her older brother Jem and their friend Dill only fuel her theories about Boo. When Jem and Dill begin shunning Scout aside, she spends her time with Miss Maudie instead, and they develop a kind of friendship. Miss Maudie, a Baptist who loves nature, has high morals, and treats everyone as equals, aids in Scout discontinuing her belief about Boo Radley’s state of mind. At one point, they have a conversation regarding Boo. They discuss the rumors Scout has heard thus far about him, and Miss Maudie shoots down her beliefs. When Scout asks Mi...
Jem knows exactly what to say and do to make Scout become putty in his hands. He calls her feminine, prudish names such as “‘Angel May’” (68), or “‘Miss Priss”’ (31), which he knows she despises, and Scout has to do whatever Jem wants her to do to prove that she is not prissy. Cam is a master of name-calling as well. Whenever I disapproved of Cam’s actions or ideas, he would call me a “baby” or a “girl,” tell me to “suck it up,” or if it came down to it, I would end up with a bruise. I, of course, would do whatever he wanted so I could get his approval and keep my body intact. Likewise, little sisters are capable of damaging egos. When Jem is talking about the Radleys, he tells Dill that he is not scared of Boo because “he’d passed the Radley Place every school day of his life,” (16), and Scout retorts, “‘Always runnin’.’” (17). Her mocking remarks remind me of the things I would say to Cam to get even. Although words of hatred were blurted out of our mouths, the underlying messages of love and appreciation erased any hurt we
Atticus Finch is respectful towards his neighbors, children, and family throughout the novel. He tends to think about them before himself and thinks it is better to be kind despite what others may say or do. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was an old lady that lived in the Finches neighborhood, and Jem and Scout despised her, “She was vicious” (Lee 115). Every day Jem and Scout would pass Mrs. Dubose, and she would make a remark on how Scout was dress
Even Scout and Jem’s aunt, Aunt Alexandra, displays racist tendencies. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it is shown that a town consists of both good and bad. Mrs. Dubose is overtly racist, representing the ‘bad’ part of the town. In chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose repeatedly insults Jem and Scout because their father, Atticus Finch, is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of rape.