What Does Mr Dubose Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Old devil! Why can’t she leave me alone?” Jem expresses his frustration with Mrs. Henry Dubose after she scolds him for ruining her flowers (Lee 115). In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mrs. Dubose always makes blunt comments to Jem and his younger sister, Scout. As a result of this, they view her as a “devil.” However, they are unaware of the pain she is dealing with. Mrs. Dubose is a representation of courage. Even with her keeping of traditions and rude opinions, she is just trying to overcome her addiction. Mrs. Dubose’s negative opinions were well known throughout the town of Maycomb. When Scout and Jem would pass her house, they would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation, and given melancholy predictions

Dubose had very traditional beliefs. “What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole!” she ridiculed Scout one evening (Lee 105). Back when she was a child, young women were supposed to wear dresses and look proper. Mrs. Dubose did not understand that the new generation of girls had different dress codes. She also shows how traditional she is due to the fact that there is a CSA pistol concealed among numerous shawls and wraps in her clothing drawers (Lee 103). This is also from when she was growing up. Another instance in which Mrs. Dubose’s beliefs were challenged was when she was talking about Atticus’s decision to defend a black man in court. Her response to this was “What has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising,” (Lee 105). Back when she was growing up, how you were raised is how you would always live. However, the times and traditions had changed, but Mrs. Dubose’s thoughts had not. And due to that, Scout and Jem just saw her as a rude old

Dubose was a symbol of courage. Each day, she had an alarm set to go off a few minutes later than the previous day (Lee 112). This alarm was reminding her to take her medicine, which happened to be morphine. It also kept her mind and body concentrated on the clock and not the withdrawals she was having (Lee 115). These withdrawals would lead to extreme shakiness, but Mrs. Dubose was determined to overcome her addiction. Day after day, she would slowly make progress and listen for the alarm clock a little less. She said she “meant to break herself of it [the morphine] before she died, and that is what she did” (Lee 115). She was very courageous because of