Mrs Dubose Character Analysis

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many interesting characters, but the characters that are the most intriguing are Atticus Finch, Aunt Alexandra, and Mrs. Dubose. They each have a unique personality and varying approaches to life. Atticus is a very wise, good man and father. Aunt Alexandra is a proper, strict, southern lady. Mrs. Dubose is a very elderly, ill-tempered women. These three characters all contribute in different ways to help create an engaging story. Atticus is incomparable to the other characters, as there is no one that matched his wisdom and kindness. Atticus is a lawyer and is around fifty years old. He is a good man and always tries to do the right thing. He is the person that everyone living in Maycomb turns …show more content…
She is Atticus’s sister and Scout and Jem’s aunt. She wants Scout to act more like a lady, and is always around telling her to set up straight, act more proper, or put on a dress. She can be very racist at times, and also gives the other families of Maycomb stereotypical titles such as, “it just goes to show you that all the Penfield women are flighty.” and “No Crawford minds his own business, Every third Merryweather is morbid, The truth is not in the Delafields, and all the Bufords walk like that.” Part of the reason why she is racist is because she wants the family name to be respected. She is very snotty, and when she comes to live with Scout and Jem the first thing she says is, “Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia.” and “Jean Louise, stop scratching your head.” She is always reprimanding Scout, and encouraging her to act more like a lady. She wants Scout to come have refreshments with her friends. “Jean Louise come speak to these ladies.” “When I appeared in the doorway, Aunty would look as if she regretted her request; I was usually mud-splashed or covered with sand.” Near the end of the book Aunt Alexandra does change some and does begin to respect Atticus for taking the Tom Robinson case. Scout learns lessons from her such as keeping her composure even when someone says something disrespectful or rude. One day when Aunt Alexandra has ladies over for tea, Scout saw something that made …show more content…
Dubose is a very strange character in, To Kill a Mockingbird. She is an elderly lady who is battling a morphine addiction. She is ill-tempered, rude, and racist. Atticus admires her for fighting so long against a battle that she knew she was going to lose. Scout and Jem didn’t know what Atticus saw in her until they were older, and they hate every time they have to walk by her house. “Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed, we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction of what we would amount to when we grew up, which was always nothing.” One time when Scout and Jem walk by her house Mrs. Dubose is calling Atticus no better then negroes and trash. Jem finally has enough and chops up all of her flowers and bushes. For his punishment, Mrs. Dubose makes him come everyday after school and read to her for a few hours. She is very sick, and scares Scout. “Her head moved slowly from side to side. From time to time she would open her mouth wide and I could see her tongue undulate faintly. Cords of saliva would collect on her lips; she would draw them in then open her mouth again.” When Scout and Jem got home they are disgusted, but Atticus said he admired her. “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