Around and during the time of the 1790’s america was going through a rough patch in political issues throughout america. Two main political parties were federalists, which were led by the Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton. He and the rest of his party believed that our country should have a strong central government. They believed that more power should be given to the federal government and not the people. The group of federalists of course was mostly made up of the upper class the richer population.
Another person who is stereotyped in this novel is Mrs. Dubose, a woman who is also known as “The meanest old woman who ever lived”. Mrs. Dubose is one of the many people who are against Atticus and she is one of the people who call him a “nigger lover”. At the beginning of the novel Mrs. Dubose is depicted as an angry old lady, who is an overall seems to be bitter and has a horrible attitude. In reality Mrs. Dubose is an old woman who is suffering from an addiction that she is trying to break. She knows that she isn’t going to win her battle with addiction but she tries anyways and uses Jem reading to her as a distraction to make it easier for her.
You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” (pg.128) Atticus says this about Mrs. Dubose and how she is an example of what true courage is. He says that what she was trying to do takes a great amount of self-confidence and humbleness. Atticus hopes his children can both see this and what matters.
When Atticus walks past the Dubose residence he waves to Mrs. Dubose and politely tells her the courthouse news. The way that Mrs. Dubose yells and rants at Atticus, Jem, and Scout effectively shows that she is an arrogant and disrespectful character in the novel.
In part one of the story To Kill A Mockingbird, the tertiary character Mrs. Dubose has significance in the story because her behavior makes Jem realize that after all of Mrs. Dubose’s horrible behavior, there are other intentions behind some of Mrs. Dubose’s actions, for example, why Mrs. Dubose uses so much help from other people, and what message Mrs. Dubose is trying to send with the actions she takes. Every day for a month, Scout and Jem read to Mrs. Dubose. As punishment for Jem tearing apart her Camellia bush, Scout thinks to herself, “It suddenly came to me that each day we had been staying a little longer at Mrs. Dubose’s, that the alarm clock went off a few minutes later every day. . . Today she [Mrs. Dubose] antagonized Jem for nearly two hours with no intention of having a fit,”
When they start out, they hate her, even stating in chapter 11 that they hate her. Mrs. Dubose drools, her house smells repulsive, and she doesn't seem to listen to Jem reading to her while still insulting them. For Scout and Jem, they don't like her, but soon understand why she is the way she is. Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict and decided to get out of addiction before she died. Atticus reminds them, “‘She’s an old lady and she’s ill.be a gentleman.
Dubose” (Lee 115). Expecting a positive response for the first time ever, but to her understanding Mrs. Dubose retorted in a pragmatic tone, “Don't you say hey to me, you ugly girl!” (Lee 115). Scout wasn't that shocked though because that's all she would ever do, make cynical comebacks to everything she would say. Not only would Mrs. Dubose criticize the children, but she would talk disrespectfully to them about their father, Atticus.
To begin with, setting builds the steps in life, like every time Jem and Scout leave their house, it is a closer step to maturity. For instance, when Jem was forced to read a book to Mrs. Dubose, he had to go over to her home, “The following week found us back at Mrs. Dubose's,” (Lee 109). The reason Jem had to read to Mrs. Dubose was because he was angry at her for saying rude things to atticus, like “nigger lover”. The childish act turned into a good cause because there for every reaction there is an action. This act soon turned Jem into a sensible boy when he learns that sometimes you have to change the bad into good.
Jem and Scout view Mrs. Dubose as a wicked old lady. She sits on her front porch and insult them, as they pass her house. She picks on how they act and what they wear. However, due to the recent gossip in Maycomb about Atticus defending Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose’s rude remarks are aimed more at Atticus. This is demonstrated in a dialogue between Jem and Mrs. Dubose.
Dubose very well. Based on her interactions and one-sided conversations with Jem and Scout she is very disrespectful towards them and their father. “Your father’s no better than the n------ and trash she laws for!” (Lee 135). This is from when Mrs. Dubose is yelling at Scout and Jem as they were walking to the store so Jem could buy some toys.
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Imagine living in a world of false accusations and judgment. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout and Jem grow up in a small southern town and learn lessons from issues they continuously face. To Kill A Mockingbird is a story of a young girl maturing in a dramatic world filled with the challenges of racism and prejudice, a world that teaches her how good and evil can exist together within a community. Throughout the novel, Scout learns several life lessons about compassion through characters and events she engages with and encounters such as Atticus, the Trial, and Boo Radley.
Mrs. Dubose is an elderly, ill, racist woman who lives near the Finches. She is very rude to both Scout and Jem, and whenever they walk past her house she says something insulting towards them. Not only was she disrespectful and heinous towards the children but she would call Atticus unacceptable names. One day when Jem and Scout were walking past her house Jem just snapped.
Mrs. Dubose displayed bravery by overcoming her addiction. She was aware that she was at the end of her life, she made Jem read to her until her alarm went off and she could get her hands on the Morphine. Atticus explained to Jem later on that the bravery Mrs. Dubose had, she was brave everyday to go by her own beliefs and to also fight such a strong addiction. He did not want Jem to misunderstand her bravery and courage and that “According to her
You can’t hold her responsible for what she says and does,” Atticus states. This further lends to the fact that Atticus is kind and forgiving. By being civil towards Mrs. Dubose, even after she insulted him, he demonstrates the respectful and accepting part of his personality. “Of course, I’d rather she’d have said it to me than to either of you, but we can’t always have our ‘druthers,” Atticus says. Atticus portrayed his responsibility and protectiveness by saying that he would rather Mrs. Dubose had said the insults to him than to his
Whenever they would walk past her house, she would shout hateful and insulting comments at them. Atticus told them to not let her comments affect them. One day, Mrs. Dubose made a comment about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. The comment was hateful and racist toward Atticus and Tom. Jem was angered by her comment and fueled by rage, cut down all of Mrs. Dubose 's camellia bushes.
