To Kill A Mockingbird Dignity Quotes

Giving dignity boosts someones ego, yet stripping dignity can ruin it as read in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee portrays how others can give and strip someones dignity by their actions and language. The novel takes place in a tired, racist town in the South called Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s. It tells the story of a white woman accusing a black man of rape. The case is taken by Atticus Finch, the best lawyer in town defending the black defendant, Tom Robinson. The case has gone on for two years and now it’s being settled with many conflicts along the way. Atticus is also a father of two who, teaches his children the morals of life, especially how to treat others with respect no the matter the race and give dignity to everyone even if they don’t deserve it. Scout,

Mrs. Dubose, also known as “like hell” and a senile women is an example of someone who doesn’t always deserve dignity. She’s a morphine addict who is also cranky, strict, rude, and racist. When Atticus sees here everyday, he walks by and complaints here. Even though she mocks Atticus for defending Tom, he ignores it and does the same routine the next day. Atticus bellows, “ ‘Good evening, Mrs. Dubose! You look like a picture this evening’ ”(Lee 133). Mrs. Dubose isn’t afraid to speak her mind, most of the words she says you wouldn’t want to hear. Atticus is hurting her with kindness. This means that instead of getting in arguments because she’s acting rude, he’s giving her words of kindness to hopefully get her to change in to her better self that he knows is in her somewhere. Atticus also tells his children to listen and respect her when they have to read to her everyday because they ruined her plants. By reading to her, stopped her morphine addiction and died as with a brave, strong soul free of drugs. Greeting a person can give them dignity like Atticus does to Mrs.