Mrs Dubose Addiction

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates people may not be what they seem, so it is important to get to know people before drawing conclusions about them, mostly through Mrs. Dubose and Arthur Radley (Boo).

Mrs. Dubose is a strong example of people are not what they seem in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. When Scout is explaining Mrs. Dubose’s characterisation, as a cruel old lady. As Scout is walking past Mrs. Dubose while she is on her front porch she thinks: “Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior. And given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew up. Which was always nothing” (Lee 132). Jem and Scout hates Mrs. Dubose for her rude comments and actions toward them and their father, however

Dubose was going through on the inside that made her act the way she did. Mrs. Dubose was going through an addiction to morphine, she was dying, her goal was to die free from the addiction. But that is causing her physical pain, leading her to be critical toward everyone including Scout, Jem, and Atticus. Additionally Mrs. Dubose said some cruel things about Atticus. Jem was furious about what she said about Atticus, as a result he tore her flower bushes apart. In consequence of his action Atticus forced Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose as a form of punishment, he also made Scout tag along with Jem. While the children read to her they found that she was ill and in pain. In this situation Atticus explained to Jem and Scout why he made them read to her: “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 ever knew” (Lee 149). Atticus is explaining to Jem and Scout that Mrs. Dubose was rude because she was in pain, her way of dealing with it was taking out on