What happened to mrs.dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Answer 1

She taught him true courage and bravery - yes she was an old cow but she died free of a morphine addiction because she stuck with it and forced herself to deal with her issues by slowly taking her morphine later and later until finnaly she got rid of her addiction.

She also reminds him that her camelias cannot be detroyed unless he pull them up 'by the roots' - which is a metaphorical representation of racism: it needs to be rooted out fully not just glossed over. Mrs Dubose was an old racist so there really was no one better to teach Jem this lesson - even if, ironically, she doesnt realize she is teaching it to him!

I'd prefer to think of the camellias representing a beaten down innocent bystander due to someone's rage, but because of their strength and 'deep roots' never the less survive the attack and return to their glory similar to the triumph over racism the reader desires. She represented both racism and courage; enhancing our understanding of the complexity of humanity- Atticus admires her courage despite her views on race so antithetical to his own and passes both observations to his children. Her dying 'free' is her own deeply rooted belief in dying beholden to nothing and no one- so in the end she does triumph over her addiction represented by her parting gift to Jem.

Answer 2

Mrs. Dubose punishes Jem because Jem destroyed her camellia bushes with Scout's baton out of anger. The reason Jem was angry is because Mrs. Dubose says Atticus is no better than "n*ggers and trash he works for."

The main reason of Jem's punishment was because of her morphine addiction. The alarm clock signaled the time Jem had to leave, but it's time grew longer and longer. Mrs. Dubose wanted to quit her addiction to morphine and die a "free woman". The alarm clock signaled the time to take morphine. The clock went of later and later until she broke free from her addiction(which she did, and then she died a free woman."


Mrs. Dubose punishes jem because she wanted to distract herself from the morphine addict that she was.

Answer 3

Jem learned that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict and that her addiction caused her to throw her wild fits and outburst of rude comments. That real courage is fighting when you're already losing. That her sickness made her crazy.

From his encounter with Mrs. Dubose, Jem learns that there is more to people than just what they show on the surface. He also learns the value of self-control. Mrs. Dubose is rude and cantankerous, cruel to the children and openly and vehemently critical of Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson. Jem hates her, and destroys her flowers in retaliation of her treatment of him and his family. When Atticus punishes Jem by making him read to Mrs. Dubose every day for a given period of time, Jem must discipline himself, bite his tongue, and be civil to the old lady. By learning to control his impulses and show kindness even though he may not necessarily feel it, Jem takes a giant step towards adulthood. He also discovers that Mrs. Dubose is in reality a woman of extreme courage, and he comes to respect her determined strength. Mrs. Dubose is battling morphine addiction, and facing the challenge with tremendous bravery and tenacious will power.

Atticus teaches his family that one cannot prejudge people. Just because they may be Cunningham's, or Mr. Raymond, doesn't mean the assumptions that people hear are true.They learn to not fear and hate Mrs. Dubose, when Atticus forces Jem to read to her.Their assumption that she was a mean old lady does not let them see why, until she passed and Atticus explains that she was fighting a drug addiction and was constantly in.

What Jem should have learned is what "real courage is"; as Atticus says it is when you do something even though you know you'll lose but you begin anyway. He says Ms. Dubose was very courageous because she tried to die free of her morphine addiction.

When she gave Jem the flower it was meant as a peace offering, in a way she was apologizing to him and showing him he did mean something to her. However Jem was still immature at the time and could not see that. Him ripping up the flower shows he had the inabiltiy to see it at the time. Atticus says that in the future he will thank him though so he will realize that Ms. Dubose wasn't completely horrible later in life.

He did learn however not to judge people because he judged Ms. Dubose in such a horrbile way but did not know that the cause of her mean behaviour and fits was her trying to fight a morhpine addiction and her other personal struggles ...

He larns what real courage is facing your fears.

Answer 4

In "To Kill a Mockingbird," Mrs. Dubose dies after a battle with a morphine addiction. Before her death, she successfully overcomes her addiction and leaves Jem a camellia flower as a gesture of reconciliation. Her character serves as a symbol of courage and resilience in the face of personal struggles.

Answer 5

Jem learns that he cannot always have his own way and he learns respect for olderly people

Answer 6

That she was addicted to Morphine

Answer 7

Chapter 11.