Ivanhoe is set in a time period when the Saxons in England were battling against the Normans for power, and only a few Saxons remained. The protagonist, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe is a Saxon himself and disinherited by his father for paying allegiance to King Richard the Lionheart, a Norman king. Sir Ivanhoe fought alongside King Richard in the Third Crusade. On the return to England, King Richard is captured by Leopold of Austria, and Sir Ivanhoe returns to England to find himself disinherited. Hence, Sir Ivanhoe's disinheritance serves to develop the theme of alienation. In addition, his alienation is a result of racial tensions between the Saxon's and the Norman's; therefore, alienation also helps to develop the theme of racial tensions.

While Jem certainly is not disinherited by his father, tensions are rising in the novel because Atticus has decided to move against the grain of society by putting his all into defending Tom Robinson. These tensions are leading to the alienation of Atticus and the Finch children from the rest of Maycomb's society. Atticus putting his all into defending Robinson would be very similar to a Saxon breaking family and social ties by showing allegiance to the enemies, the Normans. In this case, Maycomb's racially prejudiced citizens can be considered the Saxons, whereas the African-American and more fairer-minded citizens can be considered the Normans. In addition, like Sir Ivanhoe, Jem fights alongside the African-American citizens by destroying Mrs. Dubose's camellias in her flower garden, which would be the equivalent of Sir Ivanhoe fighting alongside Norman King Richard the Lionheart in the crusades. Hence, all in all, the allusion to Ivanhoe helps to underscore Maycomb's racial battle between its white and African-American citizens, a battle that leads to the alienation of the Finches, just as the Saxons and Normans are battling each other in Ivanhoe, leading to Sir Ivanhoe's alienation.

Of further importance is the fact that Ivanhoe is a tremendously huge novel of difficult reading, originally published as three volumes. Scout notes that, as his punishment, Jem returned to Mrs. Dubose's house the next day ready to read to her, "armed with Ivanhoe and full of superior knowledge" (Ch. 11). Evidently, Jem hopes to show off his superior intelligence, a young version of his father's intelligence, in hopes of Mrs. Dubose changing her mind about her criticisms of the Finch children and of her showing penitence. However, not only does Mrs. Dubose frequently correct his reading, by the end of Chapter 11, Jem has learned a great deal about bravery through Mrs. Dubose that connects to the additional theme of bravery found in Ivanhoe.

By the end of the novel, Sir Ivanhoe must battle against his enemies while severely wounded to rescue a character named Rebecca for being tried as a witch, and he succeeds. In this sense, Sir Ivanhoe can be paralleled to Mrs. Dubose who, though severely ill and in tremendous pain, battles against her morphine addiction in order to die addiction-free. Mrs. Dubose also succeeds, and Jem learns a great deal about bravery as a result of her success.

Sir Walter Scott, author of Ivanhoe and many other romantic historical novels which made him rich and famous, has suffered a severe decline in popularity and critical esteem because of his sentimentality and artificial dialogue, among other things. Here is a sample of the dialogue from Ivanhoe, which is characteristic of the way all his men and women speak.

"Truly," said Wamba, without stirring from the spot, "I have consulted my legs upon this matter, and they are altogether of opinion, that to carry my gay garments through these sloughs, would be an act of unfriendship to my sovereign person and royal wardrobe; wherefore, Gurth, I advise thee to call off Fangs, and leave the herd to their destiny, which, whether they meet with bands of travelling soldiers, or of outlaws, or of wandering pilgrims, can be little else than to be converted into Normans before morning, to thy no small ease and comfort."

Mrs. Dubose's taste for Ivanhoe, or for any other novel by Sir Walter Scott, characterizes her as an old-fashioned, Southern-belle type of woman who dotes on romantic heroes and beautiful, gracious heroines behaving with decorum in a world of unreality, a sort of fairy-land past that never really existed. We can also imagine how the treacly prose and dialogue must have been torture for poor Jem to have to read and how it contributed to his punishment. He probably didn't understand one-tenth of what he was reading to this faded Southern belle. She is a relic of the Old South, not unlike William Faulkner's Emily Grierson in "A Rose for Emily" or Azalea Adair in O. Henry's "A Municipal Report."

As a punishment for destroying Mrs. Dubose's garden, Jem was forced to read to Mrs. Dubose. The book that he read to her was Ivanhoe. The text states:

"The following Monday afternoon Jem and I climbed the steep front steps to Mrs. Dubose’s house and padded down the open hallway. Jem, armed with Ivanhoe and full of superior knowledge, knocked at the second door on the left."

As with all good novels, the mention of details have a deeper point. In this case, Ivanhoe is appropriate to the situation. Ivanhoe was a Saxon knight who was disowned by his father for following King Richard on the third Crusade. After returning from the Crusade, he comes in disguise as a religious pilgrim and fights for love in a tournament. 

One of the main characteristics of Ivanhoe is courage, which is perfectly fit for Mrs. Dubose, because Atticus says that Mrs. Dubose was an incredibly brave woman. Here is what Atticus says of her:

"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. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew."

Because Jem had destroyed Mrs. Dubose's flowers, his father forced him to go to her and do whatever chores she asked. She wanted Jem to read to her, particularly Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe is about a disinherited knight who goes away to fight in the Crusades and returns (in disguise) to fight bravely in a tournament. His courage is recognized and he is accepted once again by the people. Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict and wanted to be rid of the shame. Like Ivanhoe, she acted courageously and fought to be free.