In the abstract Mrs Dubose shows the opinion of the majority Maycomb. She makes rude remarks about Atticus to Jem; ‘your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for’. Jem takes this to heart and in retaliation knocks all the heads off Mrs Dubose’s Camellias. This is the start of a big lesson in Scout and Jems life and shows them what life in maycomb is really like.
When Atticus hears about Jems reaction, he does not scold Jem but instead calmly, as if he was in work asks ‘why’d you do it’. After Jem’s explanation Atticus tells him that Mrs Dubose had requested that he reads to her for ‘two hours every afternoon including Saturday for a month’
In Jems first reading visit he brings scout with him, Mrs Dubose’s is still prejudice; ‘So you brought that dirty little sister of yours, did you?.’ When Mrs Dubose asks the children to come closer so she can hear them more easily, scout realizes how unwell Mrs Dubose is. ‘liver spots dotted her cheeks’ and ‘the corners of her mouth glistened with wet, which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin’ are two of many symptoms she has. We are suddenly shown that Mrs Dubose’s illness is worse than first antissipated when Jessie, Mrs Dubose’s black caretaker, tells the children to leave ‘It’s time for her medicine’.
Over the next few days Jem and Scout starts to learn their lesson. They realise Mrs Dubose’s condition is severe and that she cant help some of her actions. Atticus the childrens father plays an important role in this, he explains unpleasant terms Mrs Dubose uses to describe people. An example of this is when Scout innocently asks him ‘what exactly is a nigger-lover’, and Atticus gives a tactful; ‘a common, ugly term to label somebody’. This shows Atticus respects his children's age and ability to understand their surrounding.
A month after Jem’s reading to Mrs Dubose, Atticus came home with news of her death. Atticus explains to the children how ‘Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict’. It becomes clear to both Scout and Jem that Mrs Dubose did not know what she was doing, and that she did not realise her actions towards Atticus were as offensive as were.
