How has Jem grown from his time with Mrs. Dubose? What lesson was Atticus trying to teach him? What is “real courage?

In Chapter 11, Jem loses his temper when his racist neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, insults his father by saying, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Lee 135). Jem cannot hold his anger inside and destroys her camellia bush on his walk home from the store. Atticus makes Jem read to Mrs. Dubose for two hours after school each day, including Saturdays, for a month. While Jem reads to...

In Chapter 11, Jem loses his temper when his racist neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, insults his father by saying, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Lee 135). Jem cannot hold his anger inside and destroys her camellia bush on his walk home from the store. Atticus makes Jem read to Mrs. Dubose for two hours after school each day, including Saturdays, for a month. While Jem reads to Mrs. Dubose, he learns to maintain control over his emotions and endure her insults without reacting. Jem also learns how to be tolerant of others during the time he spent reading to Mrs. Dubose. At the end of the chapter, Mrs. Dubose passes away, and Atticus explains that she suffered from a chronic illness and was addicted to morphine. Atticus tells the children that her last wish was to "leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody" (Lee 148). Mrs. Dubose knew she was going to die, but wanted to die free of her addiction. Mrs. Dubose had conquered her morphine addiction before she passed, and Atticus says she was the bravest person he's ever met.

Atticus was trying to teach his children a lesson in courage. According to Atticus, real courage is "when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" (Lee 149). Later on in the novel, Atticus displays "real courage" by defending Tom Robinson against a prejudiced town and jury. Jem grew as an individual in many ways from his time spent with Mrs. Dubose. He grew into a tolerant, understanding, emotionally composed individual. Jem also learned a valuable lesson in courage and in the duality of human nature. Jem's perspective has increased since reading to Mrs. Dubose, and he witnessed for the first time that humans have both positive and negative qualities. Although Mrs. Dubose was an unapologetic racist, she was also a brave individual with integrity and will power.