Mrs. Dubose in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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Mrs. Dubose in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

"…[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.

Mrs. Dubose, a strong-minded person, with "her own views about things" (112), has fought hard during her lifetime for what she believes in. She has learned a lot during her lifetime, and she learned to stand up for what you believe in, and show how strong you are by proving it "…don't you mutter at me, boy! You hold your head up and say yes ma'am…" (110). When she spoke to Atticus, she told him that "she disapproved heartily of [his] doings…" (111), and yet she still manages to "smile at him… [and] bring herself to speak to him when she seemed to hate him so…" (109). She is able to stand up for what she believes in, yet still able to respect others and their opinions, except when she is in great pain when she is without her morphine.

While off her morphine, she has fits, suffers much anguish and torment, but she endures through it, and determined to beat the odds, and take herself off the drugs

and die "without being willed to anyone or anything" (112). She believes that someone should die without being willed to anyone to be able to leave the Earth, and escape the shackles of pain. She may seem very boorish and vicious, but without her morphine, she cannot escape her pain, and must resort to yelling and acting rude. She has been in her bed, through the sickest of times "her face was the color of a dirt pillowcase, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wet…" (106), yet still able to fight.

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