Mrs Dubose's Courage Analysis

Mrs. Dubose behaves like a cantankerous old woman who has nothing positive to say, so initially it seems unlikely that she will be an example of courage in this novel. However, when she dies (shortly after Jem completes his punishment of reading to her), Atticus reveals this courage. In Chapter 11, Atticus returns from Mrs. Dubose's and tells Jem of her passing. Atticus also reveals that Mrs. Dubose had been addicted to morphine. She became sick and had only a few months to live. She was determined to break her morphine habit before she died. Jem reading to her helped her to pass the time. As sick as she was, it would have made sense for her to continue taking morphine to dull the pain, but instead she took the pain in order to die free of