Both of these chapters relate to the learning experiences of Jem and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. After complaining throughout the chapter that Atticus is old and feeble, they discover a new skill that their father has hidden from them: He is a crack marksman with a rifle. Atticus is not proud of this facet of his past, however. He indirectly relates the differences of true courageousness following Mrs. Dubose's death when he remarks that
"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand."
Mrs. Dubose is the one with true courage, Atticus says.
"It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what."
Atticus will later display this same kind of courage when he tackles the Tom Robinson case, knowing beforehand that he cannot win.
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In my opinion, you could write something about the cycle of life. There is a time and place for everyone and thing in the order of our world. Each situation is slotted into a master scheme of time. But all things have since our study of this world eventually come to an end. Both the "mad dog" and Mrs. Dubose had their time, and their times have come to an end. It is time for other things and for some reason, these two items are being removed from time.
I would say that one of Harper Lee's messages is that racism needs to be over. She was writing in the late 50s and was writing about the 30s. The Civil Rights movement was just about here, in fact her work may have contributed to the movement. Racism had a time in our history, we learned from it, but now it needed to be done.
Both the mad dog and Mrs. Dubose were put down with dignity. Atticus shot the dog because he was the only one who could kill the dog in one shot, minimizing the dog's pain. Mrs. Dubose needed the children's reading to help her not think about her pain as she worked to die free. In a way, Atticus is trying to put racism down, in its place in history with dignity. He is not helping the black man kill or defeat the white man cruelly, but he is working within the court system to get it done right.
Both events in the novel reveal aspects of the characters involved which give them an extra facet of humanity. When Atticus shoots the dog, he is revealing to his children an aspect of his character which they have never seen before. Both Scout and Jem see their father as 'old' and stuffy: they have never encountered the 'one-shot Finch' known to the other townspeople. After this event the children can see their father as heroic - something the adult reader sees also in his actions defending Tom Robinson.
Mrs Dubose is seen as a bigoted and cruel woman by the children. Scout refers to her as:
the meanest old woman who ever lived.
By being made to read to Mrs Dubose after destroying her flowers, Jem learns humility from his father whom she was insulting and finds out the meaning of courage when he finds out he was assisting in her beating her morphine addiction. The children learn that we do not always understand the motivations of other people and this viewpoint assists the reader in recognising the injustices of the Robinson trial.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, how are the mad dog shooting and Mrs. Dubose connected?
Atticus later explains to Jem the differences between his actions with the mad dog and Mrs. Dubose's fight against morphine addiction (in Chapters 10-11 of To Kill a Mockingbird).
"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."
The two chapters illustrate two supposed acts of courage: Atticus killing Tim Johnson, the mad dog; and Mrs. Dubose's struggle to kick morphine. Atticus discounts his own skills with the rifle in spite of his children's adulation and discovery of this trait (and his old nickname, "One-Shot Finch"). It is something of which he is not proud. Mrs. Dubose's actions, however, were deliberate and with the prior knowledge that it would be a hard and difficult struggle. To Atticus, "She was the bravest person I ever knew."
I agree that these two incidents are supposed to show Atticus' character. In each instance, the quality that is most prevalent is Atticus' quiet sense of courage.
He faces the dog and is completely calm. He steps up without the confidence of his children and accomplishes exactly what he plans to do.
Both the children are afraid of Mrs. Dubose. Atticus however, is not. He treats her with the same calm yet deliberate attitude that he faced the mad dog. He knows exactly what to do and is confident in the outcome.
For both the children, these are moments of witnessing a side of their father that they 1) do not understand, 2) do not wholly trust at first and 3) allow to boost their confidence and respect in him.
In my opinion, the connection between the two is that both of them show the kids learning about what Atticus values.
The case of the dog shows that Atticus does not think that a man needs to act all tough. He turns out to be a great shot (which Jem thinks is very manly) but he does not show it off and has not used a gun in years.
The case of Mrs. Dubose shows that Atticus thinks that it is more important to "turn the other cheek" than to get revenge. He values the idea of helping those who hurt you.
These two incidents both show how Atticus thinks people should live their lives.