I personally think that chapter eleven is important because it represents bravery, courage, benevolence, tolerance and talks about addictions.
At the start of chapter eleven, Scout talks about how much she and her brother hated Mrs Henry Lafayette Dubose, an old lady that lived alone apart from a 'coloured' girl that cared for her. Scout talks about how much they dreaded walking past her house, but there was no way of avoiding it. Mrs Dubose verbally abused the children every time they would walk past her house. Scout described her as 'vicious'. Although Mrs Dubose had nothing but bad comments to make to Scout and Jem about themselves and their father, she was quite pitiful about Scout and Jem's mother. Scout mentions on pages 110-111 that Mrs Dubose said: "A lovelier lady than our mother never lived."
Whenever Jem told his father about the events with Mrs Dubose, Atticus would say: "She's an old lady and she's ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it's your job not to let her make you mad." Every day Atticus would stop at Mrs Dubose's house, take his hat off, and say "Good evening, Mrs Dubose! You look like a picture this evening." Then he would swing Scout up onto his shoulders and they would continue home. Scout said, "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." -page 111.
The day Jem turned twelve, he and Scout were walking into town to spend his birthday money. When they walked past Mrs Dubose, she started shouting out things again this time breaking Jem's nerve by commenting about Atticus defending Tom Robinson and said that he was no better than the trash he represented in court. Jem went into town, bought his birthday present, but also something extra. On their way home as they approached Mrs. Dubose's house, she wasn't on the porch. Jem took Scout's baton and ran into Mrs. Dubose's yard, he swung that baton and broke the flowers off of every camellia bush in her front yard. When Jem had finished, he bent the baton over his knee and left it in a pile of leaves. Scout was screaming, Jem 'yanked' her hair and told her if she didn't shut up he'd pull every hair out of her head. She kept screaming over her lost baton, so Jem kicked her. Then she lost her balance and fell on her face, and although Jem roughly helped her up, Scout says he looked like he was sorry, but no apology was exchanged.
When Atticus finds out about this incident, he is outraged that Jem lost his nerve and Atticus immediately sends Jem to apologise even though Jem explains why he did it. As a punishment, Atticus makes Jem read to her every afternoon for a month. This shows Atticus wants his kids to always admit when they're wrong and show respect to people wether they like it or not, he punished Jem for his wrong doing. As Jem goes to read to Mrs Dubose (accompanied by Scout) Jem starts to realise that Mrs Dubose has these strange fits every now and then, but he doesn't understand why until Atticus tells Jem that she has passed away (page 123). Atticus tells Jem that she was actually addicted to morphine. "'Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict,' said Atticus. 'She took it as a pain-killer for years. The doctor put her on it. She'd have spent the rest of her life on it and died without so much agony.'" but Atticus reveals that even if Jem hadn't have had his outrage, he probably still would've made Jem read to her as a distraction from her pain (she weened herself off the morphine and that was what was causing the fits).
“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 you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." -Atticus (page 124)
When Mrs Dubose has the camellia given to Jem, she's passing on her bravery to him. I think it may also be a gesture of thanks, as Jem did put up with her abuse and he did read to her which may have taken her mind off of some of the pain she was going through.
Please, I'd like to know what you think. Why do you think Mrs Dubose left Jem the camellia? what do you think it symbolises?
At the start of chapter eleven, Scout talks about how much she and her brother hated Mrs Henry Lafayette Dubose, an old lady that lived alone apart from a 'coloured' girl that cared for her. Scout talks about how much they dreaded walking past her house, but there was no way of avoiding it. Mrs Dubose verbally abused the children every time they would walk past her house. Scout described her as 'vicious'. Although Mrs Dubose had nothing but bad comments to make to Scout and Jem about themselves and their father, she was quite pitiful about Scout and Jem's mother. Scout mentions on pages 110-111 that Mrs Dubose said: "A lovelier lady than our mother never lived."
Whenever Jem told his father about the events with Mrs Dubose, Atticus would say: "She's an old lady and she's ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it's your job not to let her make you mad." Every day Atticus would stop at Mrs Dubose's house, take his hat off, and say "Good evening, Mrs Dubose! You look like a picture this evening." Then he would swing Scout up onto his shoulders and they would continue home. Scout said, "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." -page 111.
The day Jem turned twelve, he and Scout were walking into town to spend his birthday money. When they walked past Mrs Dubose, she started shouting out things again this time breaking Jem's nerve by commenting about Atticus defending Tom Robinson and said that he was no better than the trash he represented in court. Jem went into town, bought his birthday present, but also something extra. On their way home as they approached Mrs. Dubose's house, she wasn't on the porch. Jem took Scout's baton and ran into Mrs. Dubose's yard, he swung that baton and broke the flowers off of every camellia bush in her front yard. When Jem had finished, he bent the baton over his knee and left it in a pile of leaves. Scout was screaming, Jem 'yanked' her hair and told her if she didn't shut up he'd pull every hair out of her head. She kept screaming over her lost baton, so Jem kicked her. Then she lost her balance and fell on her face, and although Jem roughly helped her up, Scout says he looked like he was sorry, but no apology was exchanged.
When Atticus finds out about this incident, he is outraged that Jem lost his nerve and Atticus immediately sends Jem to apologise even though Jem explains why he did it. As a punishment, Atticus makes Jem read to her every afternoon for a month. This shows Atticus wants his kids to always admit when they're wrong and show respect to people wether they like it or not, he punished Jem for his wrong doing. As Jem goes to read to Mrs Dubose (accompanied by Scout) Jem starts to realise that Mrs Dubose has these strange fits every now and then, but he doesn't understand why until Atticus tells Jem that she has passed away (page 123). Atticus tells Jem that she was actually addicted to morphine. "'Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict,' said Atticus. 'She took it as a pain-killer for years. The doctor put her on it. She'd have spent the rest of her life on it and died without so much agony.'" but Atticus reveals that even if Jem hadn't have had his outrage, he probably still would've made Jem read to her as a distraction from her pain (she weened herself off the morphine and that was what was causing the fits).
“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 you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." -Atticus (page 124)
When Mrs Dubose has the camellia given to Jem, she's passing on her bravery to him. I think it may also be a gesture of thanks, as Jem did put up with her abuse and he did read to her which may have taken her mind off of some of the pain she was going through.
Please, I'd like to know what you think. Why do you think Mrs Dubose left Jem the camellia? what do you think it symbolises?