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Tom Robinson
Mrs. Dubose is a widow who lives two doors down from the Finches. She’s ancient and unspeakably mean, shouting abuse from her porch at everyone, even children. Some, like Cecil, walk further every day to avoid her. She remains a force to be avoided until she insults Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in front of Jem, which spurs Jem to hack the buds off of her camellias. Following this, Mrs. Dubose and Atticus force Jem to read to her every afternoon for five weeks. Scout finds Mrs. Dubose’s appearance and home repulsive—she drools, her house smells oppressive, and she seems to barely listen to Jem while continuing to insult Jem and Atticus. Following her death, Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict who, while undeniably mean and racist, did a courageous thing by breaking herself of her addiction before her death.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird
The To Kill a Mockingbird quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose or refer to Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 11 Quotes
It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.
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In this scene, it is actually Atticus who is telling Scout and Jem about the courage of another person, Mrs. Dubose, who, with the help of Jem's reading lessons, was battling her morphine addiction before she died. Although Mrs. Dubose was cantankerous and cruel when she was alive, Atticus nonetheless encourages his children to see here as a complex individual whose decision to withdraw from morphine before her death makes her respectable and worthy of empathy. As Atticus explains what makes such an act courageous, Scout is able to connect this story with Atticus's own courage. In school she has Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus temp
“The one that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
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Atticus is attempting to explain to Scout and Jem what it is that made Mrs. Dubose's quiet, persistent fight against morphine addiction so courageous. His reference to "majority rule" reflects his own expertise as a lawyer, deeply schooled in the Constitution and in the laws and history of the country. In the United States, of course, majority rule is what’s legal: a majority elects a president, a majority of politicians vote for laws to be enacted, and even in a jury, a majority can convince the minority enough to ensure a unanimous sentence. Usually, this process works well enough, and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque pl
Chapter 31 Quotes
A boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing-pole behind him. A man stood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and his children played in the front yard with their friend, enacting a strange little drama of their own invention.
It was fall, and his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dubose's [...] Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, the day's woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive.
Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog.
Summer, and he watched his children's heart break. Autumn again, and Boo's children needed him.
Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.
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After Bob Ewell's attack on the Scout and Jem was thwarted by Boo Radley, Scout accompanies Boo Radley back to his house. She pauses on the Radley porch and looks out at the street. Briefly, the reader relives the entire trajectory of the novel, from the most significant highlights to the descriptions of everyday life in Maycomb, but through Boo Radley's eyes from within his house. Atticus's lesson, which Scout has remembered all along, was that you shouldn't judge someone based on first impressions: instead, you should try to see things from his or her perspective and try to really Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. No
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Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose Character Timeline in To Kill a Mockingbird
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose appears in To Kill a Mockingbird. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...that Cecil goes an extra mile per day to avoid the Radley Place and mean Mrs. Dubose . They decide to keep them until school starts again in case they belong to...
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Chapter 6
...night before he leaves. They look for Mr. Avery, who lives across the street from Mrs. Dubose and whom they once watched urinate an impressive distance. Dill casually suggests they go for...
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Chapter 11
...the past and Scout and Jem’s games take them further up the street and past Mrs. Dubose ’s house. Mrs. Dubose lives alone with a black servant named Jessie and is rumored...
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...he decides to buy a miniature train for himself and a twirling baton for Scout. Mrs. Dubose hurls insults at the children, terrifying Scout, but Jem keeps his composure until Mrs. Dubose...
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...broken baton and a camellia, Jem confesses, and Atticus icily sends him to apologize to Mrs. Dubose . Scout is terrified—she believes Mrs. Dubose will shoot Jem—but her anger at Atticus for...
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...returns home. He says that he said he was sorry, but he isn’t, and that Mrs. Dubose wants him to read to her every day after school. Atticus says that Jem must...
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That afternoon, Jem tells Atticus that Mrs. Dubose is nasty, drools, and has fits. Atticus reminds him that sick people don’t always look...
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A month later, Atticus enters as Jem reads to Mrs. Dubose . With a smile, Mrs. Dubose tells Atticus that it’s 5:14, and the alarm is...
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A month or so later, the phone rings and Atticus goes to Mrs. Dubose ’s house. He returns much later with a candy box and explains that Mrs. Dubose...
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Chapter 12
Seemingly overnight after Mrs. Dubose ’s death, Jem becomes moody and starts telling Scout what to do, including to act...
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