In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, characters commonly appear one way, but in truth are completely different people. For example, while Mrs. Dubose originally appears very cruel and mean, she is revealed to be extremely brave. Also, Mr. Cunningham appears to be very surly and angry, but he proves himself to be a righteous individual. Lastly, while Boo Radley is originally portrayed as evil and frightful, he is later shown to be a hero. Harper Lee makes characters appear one way and then act another way in order to show the discrepancy between appearance and reality. First, Mrs. Dubose is shown to be very strong and courageous, but only after she is portrayed as hateful. In the book, Atticus says, “[Mrs. Dubose] was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee 149). While Mrs. Dubose is shown constantly berating Scout and Jem with insults, she proves to herself and everyone else, including Atticus, that she is a very brave and courageous person. Mrs. Dubose proves her bravery by overcoming her addiction to morphine in the last days of her life. In other words, Mrs. Dubose proves that she is brave and courageous by following the morals that she lives by, which included not using drugs, until the very last day of her life. Mr. Cunningham also proves that while he seems like one who follows …show more content…
In the book, Heck Tate says, “To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight-to me, that’s a sin” (Lee 369-370). In this quote, Heck Tate explains that Boo has done a great service for the town and he implies that Boo is not confined to his house; Boo is simply very shy. Boo proves himself a hero when he saves Jem and Scout. By saving Jem and Scout, Boo proved that he is not the psychotic delinquent that they thought he was; he is simply a shy, but heroic,
Dubose’s unseen patience in fighting morphine addiction and her astonishing strength in extending time between doses of morphine, Lee uses Mrs. Dubose’s true intentions to show things are not always as they seem as the theme of the novel. “‘Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,’ said Atticus. ‘She took it as a pain-killer for years’” (Lee 147). Atticus explains to his children that Mrs. Dubose used to yell at them because she was fighting morphine addiction and needed some way to get her anger out.
The reason Boo was able to save them from being killed was because he could see well in the dark along with rushing to help as soon as he could even though he was not armed and Bob was. One quote in the book is where Mr. Tate says “Draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight-to me, that’s a sin.”(Lee 370) as he realizes bring Boo to testify what had occurred would be akin to shooting a mockingbird. Mr. Tate comes to this conclusion as bringing him to court would cause significant gossip and fame, which Boo has been avoiding and figures out that Boo only killed Bob out of kindness, and like a mockingbird all they do is help the community. That is why Boo is considered a mockingbird in this situation as he risks danger to protect two children and asks for nothing in
Mrs. Dubose had a long standing addiction to morphine, an incredibly strong pain killer, but has she found out she was dying she decided to defeat that addiction. Atticus explains to Jem that she could have died with
Atticus says, “ she said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. Jem, when you’re sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died,and that’s what she did”(Lee 149). When Mrs. Dubose was able to listen to Jem read for two hours without craving her drugs, it was clear that she had stopped her morphine addiction. As a drug addict, she is most definitely mean and harsh, but the children only observe this without getting to understand why she’s like this.
The author gives an ugly description of Mrs. Dubose because it shows the readers how the effects of morphine changed her physical appearance, and also to show her cruelness and how it took a toll on her body. The description is creepy, but it also makes me feel sympathy for her even though she says cruel things to Scout and her family, I feel as if inside she doesn’t really mean it and her mind is just clouded due to her illness, and she is trying to just find an outlet to release her pain. 13. Atticus explains why he considers Mrs. Dubose to be a great lady and brave person because of her qualities. Even with her different opinions on different ideas, she still persevered and kept going despite her knowing that she might die soon and that she was doomed from the beginning.
There are many underlying themes of loneliness in the novel, and Boo is described as a monster is one of many actions that applies to it. Another scene that shows Boo’s true nature of being isolated is towards the end of the novel, after saving the children, when he shows his desire to return to his isolated nature. When Scout led him back to his house, she stated, “he was still holding my hand, and he gave no sign of letting me go. “Will you take me home?” He almost whispered it, in the voice of a child afraid of the dark” (Lee, 319).
We live in a society today where judging others is a regular, everyday activity. Many people may blame a significant amount of this issue on the excessive amount of technology we have access too, but this problem has been around for much longer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, but it also teaches two young children, Scout and Jem, to listen to others, so that you can have the opportunity to learn from them. Throughout the story many characters were able to demonstrate this lesson for the kids, but three that were true examples of it were Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. With only aiming to stand up for what they believe in and not worrying what everyone
Multiple characters are symbolized as mockingbirds because it would be a sin to kill them as they only try and want to be a kind, civil person. Boo Radley is a misunderstood, and kind-hearted man who is represented as a mockingbird in the novel. Boo, due to the county's curiosity and fast pace spreading of rumours, is often perceived as monster “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom” (Lee 8).
In the beginning of the novel mrs. dubose is written off as a mean, and bitter old woman. On page 133 scout describes her a vicious and disrespectful. Scout also says “ we could do nothing to please her. If i said as sunnily as i could “hey , Mrs.
Primary Evidence: Jem tells Scout that he thinks that Boo stays in his house because Boo knows that if he was to be seen in public he would be judged by Maycomb citizens (Lee 227). 2. Interpretation: Like a mockingbird, Boo is misjudged and people are scared that he will harm them, but he is actually innocent and loving. B. Claim: Boo radley is a loving giving man who likes to bring joy to
Mrs. Dubose’s death came abruptly to the children, but not to people who knew she was addicted to morphine. Atticus explains her struggle and courage throughout her life by saying, “I wanted you to see something about her. 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
Seeing Mrs. Dubose fight her morphine addiction demonstrates how doing what one thinks is right is more important than doing the easy thing, which in this case would be dying on the morphine. This is the courage Atticus talks about, the courage for one to put themself through hardship to carry out what they believe in. Mrs. Dubose is there to show that when anyone, no matter how unsavory, works to carry out what they believe is right is doing the most courageous thing they can.
Appearance VS. Reality In the novel To Kill a MockingBird written by Harper Lee there are many events that occur that show the theme of appearance vs Reality. Throughout the story Boo radley is looked at as a monster that hides in his house and scares children. Mrs.Dubose is an old lady who had a morphine addiction and Tom robinson is known for sexualy abuseing a young white woman.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that human morality occurs, where people contain both aspects of good and evil even if society perceives them as either good or evil. Human morality is a common issue in the story, so the readers can identify what the characters in the story
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..”