In Harper Lee’s to kill a mockingbird, Mrs Dubose is a minor character but has a highly significant impact within the book as a whole; she embodies many themes such as integrity, injustice and growing up. And though she was a morphine addict, she did free herself from her addiction and in the process she embodied the theme of courage.
Mrs. Dubose displays integrity by standing up for her beliefs. She has self-appointed herself as the "manners police", according to the standards she was raised with.The way she was raised children were expected to respect their parents and other elders. Mrs.
Dubose makes a point to call the kids on it whenever they are acting out of line according to her values. She yells at Scout telling her she should be “wearing a dress and camisoles! ” Mrs. Dubose also believes that Atticus is wrong for defending a black man. She believes this because. In those days black people were considered bad.She has respect for Jem and Scout’s older relatives; she made a comment about Jem and Scouts mother, saying, "A lovelier lady never lived.
" Mrs. Dubose sat silently on her porch-Occasionally making a comment- and watched the Children and Atticus throw away their lives "lawing for niggers" or "waiting on tables. " These were all horrible things according to her values. She had enough integrity in her to try and influence other people. Whether she was right or not in doing so, she was true to her beliefs.Mrs Dubose embodies the theme of injustice as she reflects clearly the racism and prejudice in Maycomb: she becomes the voice of Maycomb by vocalising and stating things that many people believe, like when she says (… “One in the courthouse lawing for niggers”) it is clear that the people of Maycomb are thinking the same but are too afraid to say anything, but while the other residents to Maycomb are mute about the court case, Mrs Dubose openly voices her condemnation of Atticus to Jem scout and those around her.
When Jem ruined her Camilla’s Atticus made the children read to Mrs dubose as a form of punishment, he has a clear sense of what is right and wrong and he wants the children to know that as well so by forcing Jem to read to Mrs dubose they become aware of the punishments of their actions may have, even though the children abhor their punishment they go to Mrs Dubose and read to her everyday, though it was only Jem who had demolished her Camilla’s Scout goes with him without hesitation. When Jem has to read to Mrs Dubose he learns that he has to act and behave like a gentleman at all times no matter what the situation.Scout’s aversion is made extremely clear in the novel by the description she gives of Mrs Dubose “Old-age lives spots dotted her cheeks” and “…grown up over her fingernails”. When Jem read to her, and She could barely stay awake through readings. It was then when the children realised that Mrs dubose is very ill and is dying. She would have fits of coughing because she was deprived of morphine.
Before she died, her one wish was that she would break her addiction to morphine. So she spent her days and nights in bed, suffering through her withdrawal.After Mrs. Dubose died, Atticus taught Jem about true courage. He said, “ .
. . 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” Atticus reveals to Jem that she was addicted to morphine and that the reading was part of her successful effort to combat this addiction. Atticus gives Jem a box that Mrs.
Dubose had given her maid for Jem; in it is a single white camellia. The camellia, the "Snow-on-the-Mountain" could also represent a symbol of courage.
