Miss Caroline In To Kill A Mockingbird

476 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the importance of character development in literature

A person does not know a someone until they walk in his or her shoes. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird this is a major theme. A mean and grouchy teacher named Miss. Caroline in a new teacher at Scouts school. The first day when scout walked into class she was hoping for a good day, but then her teacher ruined it. Scout was thrilled to show everyone her reading skills and Miss. Caroline said that she no longer could read at home or have her dad teach her how. The teacher then patted Scout on the hand with a ruler and had her stand in the corner. This made Scout devastated because she loved to read. Later in the book Miss. Caroline had offered a boy name Walter Cunningham some money to by a lunch. He kindly declined the money and Scout told …show more content…

Another character in this book named Mrs. Dubose was an old lady who had nothing better to do but say cruel and unkind comments about other people. She would sit on her front porch and shout rude things about people as they walk by. One day Scout and Jem walked past her house on their way home from buying a baton for Jems birthday. Mrs. Dubose shouted a disrespectful comment about their dad and Jem became furious. He came back later and destroyed her bushes with the baton that he bought. As a punishment Atticus made them read to her. The kids were no looking forward to this. After a couple of reading sessions the kids noticed that Mrs. Dubose started to look ill and the days went on she kept getting worse. They later found out that she was a morphine addict and those symptoms were from her withdrawing it. Later she dies and asks Atticus to give Jem a gift from her. The gift was a petal from the flower bush that Jem had destroyed. This gift was to show Jem that she was thankful for everything that he had done for her. Both of the kids then realized that she is actually a very kind-hearted person. In conclusion you never know someone until you walk in his or her

Show More
Related

  • Miss Maudie In To Kill A Mockingbird

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do Bystanders have a responsibility to intervene in crimes? This is a question we tend to ask ourselves very often. In the texts To Kill a Mockingbird and “Stand Up”, one can see the dangers of intervening in crimes. Bystanders are innocent and shouldn't risk their own lives for someone they don't even know. Being a bystander doesn't make you guilty, because it's your choice weather to help and stick up for someone or not.

    Read More

  • Empathy Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    For instance, when Walter Cunningham eats lunch at their house, he does things differently. He puts syrup on everything, and in large amounts. He first uses his hand as well. Scout calls him out at the table, and Calpurnia is extremely upset with Scout, while she doesn’t understand the problem. The problem was she didn’t understand it’s rude to do that, because not everyone is taught the same way of doing things. “You never really know a person until you consider things from their point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 29). Atticus tells Scout this, in a way to tell her she needs to try to understand people before she judges them. Walter was a very poor boy, who rarely ever ate, and the fact that Scout said something rude to him at the dinner table lacked complete empathy. So as Atticus told Scout that it taught her a lesson, not everyone she meets is going to do things the same way, or be the same, though she should try to understand them before she judges

    Read More

  • What Does Mrs Dubose Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

    326 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mrs. Dubose is a bitter, old lady that is extremely rude to Scout and Jem, yelling dirty thing at them everytime they pass by her house. Jem hatred for that woman was so short, that one day he grabbed Scout’s baton and lost his temper, Scout explains that “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned…” (137). As a punishment for his sudden outrage, Mrs. Dubose asks that he read for her everyday and they learn things about her along the way. They described that “...From time to time she would open her mouth wide...cords of saliva would collect at her lips...Her mouth seemed to have private existence of its own” (143). Later on in the chapter, Atticus reveals that she was a morphine addict

    Read More

  • Empathy Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Atticus Finch is respectful towards his neighbors, children, and family throughout the novel. He tends to think about them before himself and thinks it is better to be kind despite what others may say or do. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was an old lady that lived in the Finches neighborhood, and Jem and Scout despised her, “She was vicious” (Lee 115). Every day Jem and Scout would pass Mrs. Dubose, and she would make a remark on how Scout was dress

    Read More

  • Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.

    Read More

  • How Does Miss Caroline Show Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first way that Scout shows a sign of empathy is in the classroom with Miss Caroline. Although Scout doesn’t know it, she has been giving Miss Caroline a very hard time. Miss Caroline is getting very stressed about her day and when she has had enough, she punishes Scout. “Miss Caroline picked up her ruler, gave me half a dozen quick little pats, then told me to stand in the corner” (Lee 24). Although Scout was punished, she is still learning to be empathetic upon seeing how much this affected Miss Caroline. when she saw how stressed Miss Caroline was with the kids. “As I was last to leave, I saw her sink down into her chair and bury her head in her arms. Had her conduct been more friendly toward me, I would have felt sorry for her. She was a pretty little thing” (Lee 24). Scout

    Read More

  • Growth and Maturity in To Kill a Mockingbird

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudice. As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird: A Story of Empathy

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first lessons taught in Mockingbird is the power of understanding other people’s perspectives. Initially, Scout has trouble empathizing with other people, especially her first Grade Teacher, Miss Caroline, whom Scout becomes frustrated at for not understanding Maycomb’s complex social structure. After hearing his daughter complain, Atticus tells Scout that she'll “get along a lot better with all kinds of folks [if she] considers things from [their] point of view” (39). After ‘standing in the shoes of another person’, it is much harder to be prejudiced towards that person. Indeed, this may be because a key tenet of prejudice is disregarding the views of whoever is being judged. Nevertheless, it proves difficult for Scout to grasp this relatively simple concept, who begins to hear rumors of Boo Radley, an enigma who has not been seen outside his home for over 30 years. Thus begins Jem and Scout’s quest to make Boo Radley come outs...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Honesty In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    On her inevitable death bed, Mrs. Dubose is honest with herself, and the Finch children, which leads to Scout’s realization of how she must act: “We could do nothing to please her. Lee uses Atticus’ good nature and respect for people to promote the theme; being strong in one’s beliefs and honest sets a good example for society: “‘First of all,’ he said, ‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view,” (Lee 39) Atticus indicates.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Essay

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    They saw Mrs.Dubose more as Tom Robinson’s case outbreaks into court. Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus is defending, so every work day Atticus walks past Mrs.Dubose house. Which is “two doors up the street… with steep front steps and a dog trot-hall.” It was not until Jem needed to read to her, when him and Scout got to go inside of her house. “An oppressive odor met us when we crossed the threshold… In the corner of the room was a brass bed and in the brass bed was Mrs.Dubose… There was a marble-topped washstand by her bed.” In her house, Jem begins to leave his safety at home and face society's disapproval, which is symbolically represented as Mrs.Dubose. She represents the racism of the Old South, and Jem had to face his problems as he begins to come of age as a mature man.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Cause And Effect

    142 Words  | 1 Pages

    The second example is when atticus made the kids go to Ms.Dubose house to read to her. Jem one day snapped and lost his cool. Jem took his rage out on Ms.Dubose bushes. Jem got angry over the years of them being called names buy this old lady Ms.Dubose. To repay Ms.Dubose Jem had to go over to her house and read to her and fix her bushes. One day Jem and Scout went over to her house and she started twitching a bit and doing strange things during their visit. Awhile later once Ms.Dubose died and Atticus explain what had happened to her. Ms.Dubose was addicted to morphine and she was trying to Curb it. The kids soon realized how strong she was being and saw how hard it must of been for her and for the most part forgave her.

    Read More

  • Why Is Atticus Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Atticus had been sure of their limits, but even they broke down sometimes : Jem said softly, “She said you lawed for niggers and trash.”(103) Mrs. Dubose had been going through a lot, but Jem hadn’t known what she had gone through and had unknowingly destroyed her lawn. But she wasn’t the only one. Many traditional folks didn’t want a white man fighting for a black man. These people targeted the things Atticus loved the most : his children. But even the bad occasion with Mrs. Dubose became a priceless lesson for Atticus’s children. Jem learned that sometimes you had to fight against people or even yourself to gain the freedom you want. Mrs. Dubose had gone through such a fight and had been victorious at the end. In many situations Jem and Scout showed courage and understanding, which led Atticus to take on Tom’s

    Read More

  • Miss Caroline To Kill A Mockingbird

    352 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through the lens of Scout, Miss Caroline seems to be a terrible and useless teacher who completely lacks sensitivity to local customs. However, if were to look at things from Miss Caroline’s point of view we would that she is well-intentioned but simply uneducated in regards to Maycomb, and is striving to fulfil her own expectations. Scout leads us to posses a negative image of Miss Caroline as her teaching method means Scout is prohibited from participating in her beloved activities of reading and writing, and Miss Caroline gives Scout ‘half a dozen quick little pats’ (P. 28) with a ruler ‘then told [her] to stand in the corner’ (P. 28) after Scout attempts to clarify why Walter Cunningham is unable to accept the quarter Miss Caroline offers

    Read More

  • Examples Of Jem's Education In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dubose is a cantankerous old lady who lives up the street from the Finch family. Whenever the kids walk by she shouts insults and tries to antagonize them. Atticus simply tells Jem, “She’s an old lady and she’s ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad.” One afternoon Jem and Scout pass Mrs. Dubose on their way to town and she insults Atticus which deeply aggravates Jem but the kids continue walking to town. Jem buys a train for himself and a baton for Scout. On the way back Jem acts rashly and Scout reports, “He had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves. He bent my baton against his knee, snapped it in two and threw it down.”(137). Atticus has Jem make up for his mistake by reading to Mrs. Dubose for a month, which is excruciating for both him and Scout who comes along. When Jem reads to her, it starts out with her pestering them as usual, but then she starts paying less and less attention, and they leave when the alarm in her room goes off. On Jem’s last day reading to Mrs. Dubose, she says, “Jeremy Finch, I told you you’d live to regret tearing up my camellias. You regret it now, don’t you?” Jem does, but later learns from Atticus that he wanted him to read to her anyway. She needed a distraction from the alarm clock that sounded later and later each time the children went to read to her. Mrs. Dubose was

    Read More

  • Short Summary and Quote Analysis in To Kill a Mockingbird

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.

    Read More

More about Miss Caroline In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document