Atticus Parenting Style
Language Arts BT1 2012
" 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." What is the type of courage that is being highlighted in the quote above? How is "real courage" shown in the novel?
The type of courage highlighted in the quote above is moral courage. "Real courage" is shown through the image of Mrs Dubose, a morphine addict who wished to overcome her addiction before she died.
Mrs Dubose was a repugnant, bedridden and a very ill lady whom had been taking morphine as a painkiller, prescribed by doctors, for years. However, before she died, she wanted to overcome her addiction to morphine as she wanted to die "beholden to nothing and nobody". As an old and sick woman, she had every right to continue taking morphine so as to "make things easier" for herself for her last few months and no one would have blamed her if she had wanted to leave the world in narcotic bliss. However, she was extremely headstrong and she decided to follow her principles and do what she felt was right, no matter how impossible or painful it was. Her decision had led to a series of withdrawal fits. As Jem's punishment for chopping of the tops of Mrs Dubose's camellias, he was made to come and read to Mrs Dubose every afternoon for a month and Scout accompanied him. The two children were terrified to see cords of saliva collecting on Mrs Dubose's lips. Scout described this as "she would draw them in, then open her mouth again. Her mouth seemed to have a private existence of its own. It worked separate and apart from the rest of her, out and in, like a clam hole at low tide. Occasionally it would say, "Pt," like some viscous substance coming to a boil." This emphasizes the suffering and agony Mrs Dubose had to go through in order to overcome her addiction to morphine but her sheer determination was what made her persevere through the difficulties she had met with and finally, overcome her addiction. Mrs Dubose
" 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." What is the type of courage that is being highlighted in the quote above? How is "real courage" shown in the novel?
The type of courage highlighted in the quote above is moral courage. "Real courage" is shown through the image of Mrs Dubose, a morphine addict who wished to overcome her addiction before she died.
Mrs Dubose was a repugnant, bedridden and a very ill lady whom had been taking morphine as a painkiller, prescribed by doctors, for years. However, before she died, she wanted to overcome her addiction to morphine as she wanted to die "beholden to nothing and nobody". As an old and sick woman, she had every right to continue taking morphine so as to "make things easier" for herself for her last few months and no one would have blamed her if she had wanted to leave the world in narcotic bliss. However, she was extremely headstrong and she decided to follow her principles and do what she felt was right, no matter how impossible or painful it was. Her decision had led to a series of withdrawal fits. As Jem's punishment for chopping of the tops of Mrs Dubose's camellias, he was made to come and read to Mrs Dubose every afternoon for a month and Scout accompanied him. The two children were terrified to see cords of saliva collecting on Mrs Dubose's lips. Scout described this as "she would draw them in, then open her mouth again. Her mouth seemed to have a private existence of its own. It worked separate and apart from the rest of her, out and in, like a clam hole at low tide. Occasionally it would say, "Pt," like some viscous substance coming to a boil." This emphasizes the suffering and agony Mrs Dubose had to go through in order to overcome her addiction to morphine but her sheer determination was what made her persevere through the difficulties she had met with and finally, overcome her addiction. Mrs Dubose