What is the significance of "snow on the mountain" in Chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
On the surface, the Snow-on-the-Mountain camellia that the dying Mrs. Dubose leaves for Jem appears to be a kindly gift that the old lady wanted him to have for his many days of reading to her. It certainly serves as a remembrance that Jem will not forget. The Snow-on-the-Mountain camellia is native to Japan and was only introduced to the United States in the 19th century; Mrs. Dubose must have spent many years cultivating the plant, which most often grows at high altitudes. It is loved for its pure white color. Author Harper Lee no doubt used this particular variety of camellia to hammer home a few points. First, the plant--normally found in cold areas--fits the theme of Mrs. Dubose's icy personality. Although there was "a hint of summer in the air," when it came time to discipline Jem for chopping down the camellias, Atticus's
... voice was like...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
the winter wind.
After he told Jem to go and apologize, Atticus sat down to read "in cold blood." When Jem began reading to Mrs. Dubose, he saw that she drooled
... like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin.
Each day, Mrs. Dubose "warms up every afternoon" by calling Atticus a "nigger-lover"; and when she died, it was without her morphine addiction--as free "as the mountain air."
Her gift to Jem serves as a reminder that some things--and people--don't die easily. As Mrs. Dubose reminds Jem, to kill her camellias, one must "pull it up by the roots." Many critics point out that the white camellias also serve as a symbol of the old lady's undying racism: Her beloved white camellias represent her pre-Civil War upbringing, and how she is bound to die unrepentant in this regard. Like the camellias, racism cannot by destroyed by merely killing off the head (especially with an innocent weapon like a girl's baton): It, too, must be cut off at the roots.
What does "Snow-on-the-Mountain" represent in chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
I wasn't sure about this term the first time I read To Kill a Mockingbird, so I had to research the term myself. "Snow-on-the-Mountain" is referred to at the end of Chapter 11 when Jem receives a posthumous gift from Mrs. Dubose shortly after her death,
... a white, waxy, perfect camellia. It was a Snow-on-the-Mountain."
A Snow-on-the-Mountain is a rare type of camellia, also known as the Christmas Camellia (or Camellia sasanqua). Native to Japan, it is Mrs. Dubose's prize variety and usually found only in hilly, coastal evergreen forests in Asia. The camellia serves not only as a final remembrance from Mrs. Dubose, but also to remind Jem that his attempt to destroy the plant was unsuccessful: that unless you kill it at the roots, it will still survive. The camellia also represents racism, the white flower symbolizing Mrs. Dubose's white supremacist attitude toward Negroes; and how racism also must be destroyed at the roots or it, too, will continue to grow.