Mrs Dubose Essay

455 Words2 Pages
To Kill a Mockingbird Past Paper A.) How does lee use details in this passage to present Mrs Dubose as an unpleasant character? Harper Lee focuses on Mrs Dubose’ physical appearance to reflect that is is as hideous and revolting as her manners. Lee uses simile’s ‘which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin.’ to depict detestable visual imagery, which highly reflects our first impressions of the woman under the skin. The description of her ‘ soot stained mantelpiece’ is very different to that of Miss Maudie’s house. It is a lot less welcoming and a lot more dark and eerie, the houses can be seen to reflect the women inside them. ‘I didn’t like anymore than I had to.’ Lee uses scouts narrative and innocent nature to juxtapose with Mrs Dubose’s vicious demeanour. Also Scouts narrow-minded attitude towards Mrs Dubose’s appearance, mirrors that of Maycomb county, and their prejudice outlook towards the black community, through the act of judging someone solely on their appearance. She is displayed as the traditional white women of Maycomb with prejudiced views. ‘Mrs Dubose would catch him and make him spell it out.’ This shows her controlling and dominant presence, and the authority she holds over the children, driven by the force of fear. We see her attitude towards the children as very fierce which contrasts to the previous character of Miss Maudie who is seen as a mother like figure to Jem and Scout. The description of her ‘black pin point eyes and the cuticles which were grown up over her fingernails,’ is a sharp contrast to the stereotypical, transient and superficial appearance of woman at this time, who are often seen in relation to sweet and ‘heavenly’ in their appearances. Lees use of a one sentence paragraph, ‘I looked towards her,’ marks a change in attitude towards the character of Mrs Dubose, and we begin to see the
Open Document