To Kill a Mockingbird Group

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lillypad09
lillypad09
Student
High School - 10th Grade

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", what lessons does Mrs. Dubose teach Jem and Atticus?

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Posted by lillypad09 on Saturday March 21, 2009 at 4:41 PM and tagged with atticus, characters, dubose, jem, lessons, to kill a mockingbird.

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  1. accessteacher
    accessteacher Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    There is an obvious lesson in the courage and bravery of Mrs. Dubose. Although she doesn't need to go "cold turkey", she can't bear dying being dependent on morphine, and so, at great personal cost, weans herself off this drug. Here we have another noble fight that is fought in this novel, one that is based on principles and values, and interestingly, one that Atticus Finch treats with great respect and causes him to praise Mrs. Dubose. Her struggle is perhaps a foreshadowing of the struggle for justice engaged in by other characters in the novel later on.  

    Also, she reminds Jem that her Camelias cannot be destroyed unless you "pull them up by the roots". This could be seen to be a metaphorical illustration of racism - it needs to be uprooted completely for it to be eradicated.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/mockingbird/

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    Posted by accessteacher on Saturday March 21, 2009 at 5:54 PM