What Does Mrs Dubose Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the author uses various pieces of symbols to portray a certain message. Jem and Scout are not too fond of Mrs. Dubose, a character who they perceive to be very discourteous. As the chapter progresses, Jem decides to make unwise choices in regards to his hatred towards Mrs. Dubose, which led to him having to perform certain tasks that were assigned to him, such as reading a book to her, as a punishment. Jem learns from his mistakes and realizes that he should always cherish everything that is to come, after it is too late–when Mrs. Dubose passed away. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is that one should always fight and work for what they want, regardless of the amount of time they

Dubose. Mrs. Dubose was an individual who was addicted to morphine, and her chances of surviving were low. Instead of taking more of her medication, she decided against it and pursued a goal in which she hoped to achieve before she passed away. For example, “‘it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did’” (Lee, 148). Rather than taking more of the morphine to ease the pain that Mrs. Dubose was experiencing, she fought through it with all of her might. Even though her goal was improbable, she passed away fighting her hardest to achieve it, bringing out the boldness and courage in her. Others saw it as a symbol of courage, something that should be lived up to and taken as inspiration to fight for what one desires. For example, “‘Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I knew’” (Lee, 149). This shows how Mrs. Dubose was valiant and determined to achieve her goal, which was overcoming her addiction to morphine. This shows how Atticus respects her so greatly, regardless of what she has said to him and his children. Atticus sees this symbol as something very vital to him, and he uses it as a way to teach Jem a lesson–to fight with integrity until the very end no matter

As a punishment for destroying Mrs. Dubose’s bushes contained with camellias, Jem is compelled, by Atticus, to read to her for a certain amount of time every afternoon after school and Saturdays. As weeks went by, Scout notices how Jem has been reading to Mrs. Dubose for an extended amount of time each day. For example, “...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…” (Lee, 145). With the usage of the alarm clock, this shows how Mrs. Dubose used it as a way to battle her weakness rather than taking more pain-killers. Being addicted to the drug, Mrs. Dubose’s body had a desire for morphine, which meant that she wanted more. As the time continued to extend each day, it pushed Mrs. Dubose to go even longer without taking the pain-killers, which showed that she was fighting her hardest to not take them. The alarm clock continued to play a vital role in the chapter. Regardless of how long and what Jem had to read to Mrs. Dubose, she focused solely on one object–the alarm clock. For example, “‘Most of the time you were reading to her I doubt if she heard a word you said. Her whole mind and body were concentrated on that alarm clock’” (Lee, 148). This shows how Mrs. Dubose was being very serious with battling her weakness. Instead of disregarding the alarm clock and