Mrs Dubose et al

1. Mrs Dubose et al Objective: To explore the significance of minor characters and their contribution to the key themes of the novel

2. Chapter 11 • Jem and Scout regularly pass the property of Mrs Henry Lafayette Dubose, whose ‘vicious’ habit is to sit on her porch and make aggressive remarks. ‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’ she says and Jem’s control snaps. He bursts into Mrs Dubose’s front yard and breaks all the old lady’s camellia bushes. Atticus makes Jem apologise to Mrs Dubose and clear up the mess as well as calling each day to read to her. Mrs Dubose, now bedridden, usually falls asleep soon after the children arrive. Later that spring she dies. Atticus explains that, very courageously, Mrs Dubose had overcome her addiction to a pain-killing drug at the end of her life.

3. ? ‘She was horrible. Her face was the colour of a dirty pillow-case, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wet, which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin. Old-age liver spots dotted her cheeks, and her pale eyes had black pin-point pupils. Her hands were knobbly, and the cuticles were grown up over her finger-nails. Her bottom plate was not in, and her upper lip protruded; from time to time she would draw her nether lip to her upper plate and carry her chin with it. This made the wet move faster.’ • Responses? • What figurative devices? • Is Harper Lee forcing us to judge Mrs Dubose?

4. Questions • What do we learn of Mrs Dubose? • Why does Jem massacre the Camelias? • Why does Mrs Dubose make Jem read to her? • When Atticus says ‘ 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 does he mean? 1o minutes. Bullet points. Silence.

5. For the rest of the lesson! • Miss Maudie • Calpurnia • Aunt Alexandra • In groups, provide the rest of the class with a character profile. • Consider: what they do and what part they play in the novel. Why are they significant? Any quotes would be useful!

6. Miss Maudie Reinforces Atticus’ philosophy on life- she, like him, represents the voice of reason in a world of prejudice and hypocrisy She is a sensible role model for Scout, and to an extent makes an impact upon the community in which she lives, despite her existence in a patriarchal and divided society. She acts as an ‘illuminator’- she often sheds light onto matters (and characters!) that the children cannot truly understand. Lee uses her as the holder of the puzzle pieces- she often slots things in to place She acts as a vehicle for Lee to explore the role of women and issues of Christian compassion/hypocrisy

7. Maudie quotes ‘A chameleon lady’ (47) ‘She loved everything that grew in God’s earth, even the weeds’ (47) ‘She had an acid tongue in her head’ (49) ‘”There are some [...] who are so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one’” (50)

8. Character Response • I would like you to compare Maudie with Mrs Dubose. We get a great deal of information about Maudie from the fire. This can be completed for homework if time does not permit in class.