To Kill a Mockingbird

TKaM Part 1 Reflection

In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee chooses to end Part I with the incident with Mrs. Dubose to show how much Scout and Jem grew. At first Jem wasn't so thrilled about reading to Mrs. Dubose. But the more he went the more he didn't mind as much. Mrs. Dubose helps them to realize to not judge a book by its cover. They thought that Mrs. Dubose was a very evil and cruel person. She was always making fun of Atticus for defending an African American. But they did not realize that she had problems too, that she was a morphine addict and that it was probably made her so cranky all the time. Jem and Scout thought she was evil for the fun of it. Little did they know that she had significant problems in her life. Mrs. Dubose helped Jem and Scout learn that not everyone is who people think they are. Boo Radley also helped them learn this because people thought he was creepy but he was really a kind person. Mrs. Dubose is one of the more prejudiced people in Maycomb. Even though she was absolutely cruel to Atticus he still empathized for her. He said that she was one of the most courageous people he ever met. She ended her addiction to morphine before she died. Atticus' empathy shows the kind of person he is. Even though she gave him nothing but cruelty, he knew she was going through hardship and didn't need the extra stress from him. Empathy is greatly emphasized throughout the chapter. Scout and Jem start to learn how to empathize for other no matter how cruel they are. This chapter shows how much Jem and Scout are starting to grow and mature throughout the book.