“Some people are so rude, living their lives with no concern for others, or possibly just intent on ticking other people off, annoying everyone around them.” In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the rudeness of Maycomb is scrutinized greatly. The town is in a time of severe discrimination of black people. Mrs. Dubose is no exception to this disrespect; Therefore, the most dominant trait displayed by Mrs. Dubose is rudeness.
Mrs. Dubose was very irritable, which caused her to be rude. As Scout and Jem were harmlessly walking to meet Atticus, Mrs. Dubose yells to Scout "Don't say that to me you ugly girl! You say good afternoon Mrs. Dubose!" Mrs. Dubose was fighting a morphine addiction. An addiction that would make anybody irascible. While her drug problem was a probable cause of her short temperedness, Mrs. Dubose had other examples of rudeness.
Mrs. Dubose, being an old white woman, was racist. She had very set ways in her thoughts about black people and the social hierarchy. After upsetting Jem, Mrs. Dubose claims that “Your father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for.” Mrs. Dubose words reveal the racist side of herself but also can be linked to the extensively biased views in Maycomb. Although Mrs. Dubose has a right to her own opinion, the way she speaks her thoughts is impolite. There is
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Dubose was a judgemental person. Though she was just an old woman who sat on her porch and surveyed the neighborhood, she was a terrorizer to Jem and Scout. Scout reveals Mrs. Dubose’ incivility when she states, “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.” Jem and Scout despised Mrs. Dubose. The censorious attitude exhibited by Mrs. Dubose is very telling of her character. The act of telling children they will be nothing when they grow up is incredibly ill mannered and shows Mrs. Dubose’s true
Mrs. Dubose’s unseen patience displays her true intentions to prove that appearances are not always as they seem. “It suddenly came to me that 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, and that she was well into one of her fits by the time it sounded” (Lee 145). After Jem cuts down Mrs. Dubose’s camellia’s for calling Atticus bad names, Mrs. Dubose punishes Jem by having him come and read to her every day for two hours. However, Jem and Scout soon find out that Mrs. Dubose actually extends their time at her house everyday by a couple minutes. While it seems like a harsh punishment, Mrs. Dubose’s true intention of extending the time each day was so that she could fight her addiction a little longer.
Since supporting a man of color is against their raising. She goes on to say “...what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!”... “Your father’s no better than the … and trash he works for” (Lee 117). Mrs. Dubose proves that people in Maycomb County are brought up to believe these people are bad and, if you oppose this opinion, you become “trash” just like them.
I think that was her way of telling you – everything’s alright now, Jem, everything’s alright now. You know, she was a great lady." (148) Even if Mrs. Dubose did not always show her affection and care towards them, she still did truly like them. This quote shows how she cared for Jem and his feelings and wanted to reassure him that it is okay
Dubose faces prejudice because of how despicable she is. Many people, including Scout and Jem, think she is mean just to ridicule others. However, this is not true. Scout thinks this is true when she says, “She [Mrs. Dubose] was vicious” (Lee 100). One day, Jem takes a baton from Scout and destroys all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bushes.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus believes Maycomb is unjust because the town is inconsiderate of other people’s view, which is shown when Atticus gets targeted for defending a black man, worries that his kids will become bitter and catch Maycomb’s disease, and Aunt Alexandra advising Atticus that he is raising his kids wrong. To begin with, Mrs Dubose addresses to Scout and her family about how Atticus is disgracing his race and his color by defending Tom Robinson on the alleged rape case. Mrs Dubose says, “Your father’s no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for” (135). Atticus views Maycomb as an injustice town because during this time period black people were seen as a lower class. Atticus is mark as an overall victim because in the trial the county is shocked that Atticus is
“Emotions can’t be allowed to interfere with what is right.” This quote, provided by Amazon’s recent, critically-acclaimed dystopian television series accurately summarizes the key takeaway when it comes to morality in To Kill a Mockingbird. How does this quote from a television show which takes place in an alternate 1960s America relate to the theme of morality in Harper Lee’s Great Depression-era novel? To answer this, we must first examine how the said theme in the novel is created. How does Harper Lee convey her message of not letting emotion sway us from right?
The external and internal conflict in this passage is put in picture by Scout and Jem. They portray Mrs.Henry Lafayette Dubose as someone that is hard to please. Scout said “Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would raked by her wrathful gaze... we could do nothing to please her.
After watching her father fight hard for a case he was bound to loose, hearing all the mean names her family and Tom was called and hearing the news of Tom’s death she began to understand the reality of racism. “Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.” (Lee, 110)
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and her brother live with their dad Atticus. They have a servant Scout doesn’t get along with too well, Calpurnia, “Our battles were epic and one-sided,”(6) showing what Scout thinks about their relationship. They live in the town of Maycomb Alabama. The family goes through a lot of harassment because of a choice Atticus has made to defend an African American man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping young Mayella Ewell. Mrs. Dubose was one of the ones responsible for the harassment by calling Atticus many names and using racial slurs to do so, “neighborhood opinion was unanimous that Mrs. Dubose was the meanest old woman who ever lived,” (35) further elaborating Mrs. Dubose’s
Hypocrisy In To Kill a Mockingbird Hypocrisy is the "moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess." In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many instances of hypocrisy. Many people, at the time were very prejudiced against African-Americans and as a result there were many hypocrites in the Southern States. Some examples of hypocrisy and hypocrites in the book are Aunt Alexandra, Miss Gates, and Mrs. Merriweather.
In the beginning of the novel mrs. dubose is written off as a mean, and bitter old woman. On page 133 scout describes her a vicious and disrespectful. Scout also says “ we could do nothing to please her. If i said as sunnily as i could “hey , Mrs.
Aunt Alexandra is a very stereotypical character. For example scout says “I suggested that one can be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam…”(108). This shows that Aunt Alexandra is a very stereotypical towards Scout because she is not ladylike and Scout realized that. Mrs.Dubose is also a very stereotypical character as well. For instance Mr.Dubose states to Scout “ What are you doing in those overalls?
Whenever they would walk past her house, she would shout hateful and insulting comments at them. Atticus told them to not let her comments affect them. One day, Mrs. Dubose made a comment about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. The comment was hateful and racist toward Atticus and Tom. Jem was angered by her comment and fueled by rage, cut down all of Mrs. Dubose 's camellia bushes.
Dubose disrespected Atticus, he could not accept that. She said, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for.” (pg. 125). Jem later destroys all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bushes out of anger. Atticus told him to be a gentleman because she is old and ill, but Jem lost his temper.
So don’t let Mrs. Dubose get you down. She has enough troubles of her own” (pg. 124). Consequently, this short sentiment displays Atticus’ unfailing desire to find everyone agreeable despite the circumstances and does well as an example for his growing children. Furthermore, he presents his unconditional love by following, possibly unconsciously, the commandments of the Bible where it lies said, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Not once in the pages of the To Kill a Mockingbird novel does Atticus result into severe and unfair disciple toward Jem and Scout, rather he determinedly instructs them in the ways of tenderness.