To Kill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee

Frequently in life, it is said that the harmony and relationship between positive and negative must coexist in every situation. To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of a young girl, Scout, and her brother Jem, as they grow up in a segregated American south. Their critical coming of age lesson can be seen in the children’s experiences with Mrs. Dubose, an angry, insulting woman who is later revealed as a courageous figure that battles her morphine addiction by her own means. In chapter eleven of To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem acts out against Mrs. Dubose in defense of his father and family through destroying her prized, beautiful camellia bushes. As punishment, Jem’s father Atticus condemns Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose

From Scout’s perspective, she, as well as Jem, view Mrs. Dubose as an irate and racist old woman who frequently calls out insults from her front porch, “Mrs. Dubose would become bored and pick on us: ‘Jeremy Finch, I told you you’d live to regret tearing up my camellias. You regret it now, don’t you?’” (Lee 146). Nonetheless, it is only later in the novel that Mrs. Dubose’s true strength is revealed. The central conflict of the scene occurs through Jem’s punishment, and realization as well as Mrs. Dubose’s inner conflict in her fight against her own morphine addiction. Through this prime coming of age experience, Atticus teaches his children an important lesson about the harmony between bad and good, “‘Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,’ said Atticus ... ‘ [...] 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). The theme of an ever present coexistence of positive and negative in all aspects can be seen when Mrs. Dubose knows that she will die, but she chooses to fight herself through her inner conflict and emerges victorious. Her story teaches the children that through every negative situation, a balance of positivity is possible through their personal resolve. In Atticus’ words, “‘She was the bravest person I ever

The time period and location of Mrs. Dubose’s home are key aspects of Harper Lee’s use of setting to demonstrate the theme. The location and time period of the novel allowed for interactions between Mrs. Dubose and the children to take place. For example, the placement of Mrs. Dubose’s home allows for Scout and Jem to come into contact with her regularly, “...the business section of Maycomb drew us frequently up the street past the real property of Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. It was impossible to go to town without passing her house unless we wished to walk a mile out of the way” (Lee 132). The novel’s setting plays a vital role in the reader’s understanding of the novel. The events of To Kill A Mockingbird show that even within a small, close knit Southern town, violence and racism can tear apart a community. The theme of a balance between good and bad in life can be shown when the community finds itself facing negativity through racial prejudice and separation but Atticus teaches his children positivity.. Further, the weather and season allow for Mrs. Dubose’s camellias to bloom and for Jem to subsequently ruin them, “We bounded down the sidewalk on a spree of sheer relief, leaping and howling. That spring was a good one: the days grew longer and gave us more playing time” (Lee