Friday 24 May 2013

What exactly do Jem & Scout learn from their experience with Mrs Dubose?

Jem and Scout have learnt what true bravery is through their experience with Mrs Dubose. At first, they believe that they are being forced to read to Mrs Dubose because they have misbehaved, they do not know that there is a more serious reason. At the end of the chapter they find out that Mrs Dubose was dying when they were reading to her and that she had been trying to get out of her addiction to morphine and that by having Jem read to her, she would have a distraction to the pain. Atticus knew this all along and wanted Jem and Scout to learn that bravery does not come in the form of a man holding a gun and that Mrs Dubose had shown true bravery. This is only one of the times that Atticus has tried to teach Jem and Scout but throughout part one of the book we see him try to teach them good life skills that other parents may not teach. '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' this quote ties in perfectly with the two main things Atticus teaches his children in this part of the book, the fact that Mrs Dubose showed true bravery and the fact that Atticus does not want his children to think he is brave and a good man because he can shoot a gun.

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