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To Kill a Mockingbird Purpose Passages

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Submitted By minty13
Words 757
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Minh-Thi Nguyen
Mrs. Smith
English 1 Honors/ Period 4
November 14, 2013
To Kill a Mockingbird Purpose Passage Questions
“Atticus reached down and picked up the candy box. He handed it to Jem. Jem opened the box. Inside, surrounded by wads of damp cotton, was a white, perfect camellia It was a Snow-on –the-Mountain… ‘Old hell-devil, old hell-devil. Why can’t she leave me alone?’ …Jem picked up the candy box and threw it in the fire. He picked up the camellia, and when I went off to bed I saw him fingering the wide petals” (148).
Questions:
1. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, why does Mrs. Dubose give Jem the perfect white camellia? What does its color symbolize and how is it significant to the novel?

2. The “Snow-on-the-Mountain” camellia in the candy box is cut and does not have any roots. Moreover, Mrs. Dubose only gave the camellia to Jem. What does this symbolize and what was the message that Mrs. Dubose was trying to convey?

3. Why does Harper Lee end Part One of the novel with Jem’s decision of keeping the camellia? 1. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, why does Mrs. Dubose give Jem the perfect white camellia? What does it symbolize and how is it significant to the novel?
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, when Mrs. Dubose criticizes Atticus as a “nigger-lover” and taunts the children for their father’s decision to defend an African American in court, Jem deliberately destroys every one of her precious camellias. However, before she dies, Mrs. Dubose leaves Jem the “perfect camellia” from her garden (148). The whiteness and perfection of the flower implies the innate goodness that lies in the heart of its donor. Despite her prejudice towards blacks and her irritable personality, the color of the camellia contrasts her external flaws, and thus revealing the essential goodness that exists within all humans. By giving Jem the white flower, Harper Lee explains and introduces the significant theme that good and evil can coexist in the same person. Therefore, Mrs. Dubose’s present illustrates her gratitude and respect for Jem, and the portrayal of the goodness in her heart before her death, in lieu of Jem’s initial speculations that it is simply a reminder of the day he ruined her flowers.

2. The “Snow-on-the-Mountain” camellia in the candy box does not have any roots. Moreover, Mrs. Dubose only gave the camellia to Jem. What does this symbolize and what was the message that Mrs. Dubose was trying to convey?
Earlier in the chapter, Mrs. Dubose advises Jem to “kill the roots first” the next time he destroys a plant. The fact that her present for Jem only consisted of a flower head exemplifies that Mrs. Dubose, like Jem, tends to make multifarious mistakes throughout her lifetime. Mrs. Dubose’s morphine addiction and Jem’s intolerable actions both portray their flaws as human beings. Furthermore, the Snow-on-the-Mountain camellia implicitly illustrates that finally, before her death, Mrs. Dubose is “free as the mountain wind” from her pain and addiction to morphine. Therefore, by giving Jem the camellia, she explains to him that he is now free from her generation of individuals who believe that white men are considered superior to African Americans, thus marking the gradual termination of segregation and prejudice in society. She forgives him and her gift serves as a sign of friendship and thankfulness for Jem’s commitment and effort to help her stop her addiction and her mistake. 3. Why does Harper Lee end Part One of the novel with Jem’s decision of keeping the camellia?
When Jem first receives the white camellia from his father, he becomes outraged and engulfed with anger, for he speculates that Mrs. Dubose leaves him the flower only to constantly remind him of his mistake in destroying her garden. Furthermore, because of her unforgivable insults concerning Atticus, Jem refuses to accept the innate goodness that lies within Mrs’ Dubose’s heart. He assumes that a person who has the ability to speak those words can never have a good heart. However, after Atticus explains Mrs. Dubose’s strength and courage, Jem’s mind matures; he realizes that good and evil can indeed coincide in one person, and accepts Mrs. Dubose’s present and continues to take care of it. Therefore, this then foreshadows a major theme of prejudice and the innate kindness of various individuals in part two of the novel.

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