Theme Of Appearance Vs Reality In To Kill A Mockingbird

1004 Words3 Pages

Appearance Vs. Reality “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase heard frequently throughout one’s life. It refers to the fact that it is easy to look at the surface of people, things, and ideas without taking the effort to delve beyond the outward appearance. The theme of appearance versus reality is prevalent in Harper Lee’s Bildungsroman novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story takes place in a southern town in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. Throughout the novel, false judgement is portrayed through prejudice in Maycomb’s society that fails to see the difference between assumptions and the silent reality, thus damaging their thoughts and actions. While To Kill a Mockingbird shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, …show more content…

This is a lesson in the novel that Jem and Scout learn soon after meeting Mrs. Dubose. Initially the children believed Mrs. Dubose was a cantankerous old woman. They “hated her”, would be “raked by her wrathful gaze”, and “subject to ruthless interrogation regarding [their] behavior”(Lee 132). After a countless number of times of finding Jem furious at something Mrs. Dubose would say, Atticus tells him that “She’s an old lady and she’s ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman…”(Lee 133). Eventually, Jem is no longer able to contain his rage and destroys Mrs. Dubose’s garden. As a result, he is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose as punishment however, he soon learns “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict” because “she took it as a pain-killer for years”(Lee 147). After her death, Atticus helps Jem and Scout see beyond her sickly appearance and malevolence.“I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is...It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what…she died beholden to nothing and nobody...” (Lee 149). Even though Mrs. Dubose knew she was going to die, she wanted to be free of her addiction, and in the end she won. According to Atticus, this is the true definition of courage that he wants his children to understand, to see the world from a different perspective. Mrs. Dubose illustrates the theme that people are not always what they

Open Document