This song by Rascal Flatts represents true inner courage in a hopeless time when all odds are against you. Mrs. Dubose was morbidly addicted to morphine and had been suffering from drug withdrawal for many years. The addiction turned her into a woman angry at everything, living her life in hate. Mrs. Dubose could’ve chosen to take the morphine for the rest of her life, but chose to try to live without the drug. However, she could no longer feel normal without the morphine the doctor gave her for whatever happened to her. She knew she had a microscopic chance of curing the addiction, but she tried to anyway. She was devoted to leaving the world cured of the addiction and did anything to distract her from it. Near the end of her life she even had Jem Finch read to her for hours and hours every day, trying not to focus on her addiction to morphine. When she died a little later, she had accomplished her goal of leaving the addiction behind. Atticus stated that she died “as free as the mountain air” and that she showed real courage, which was “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see through it no matter what”.
Posts Tagged ‘Brian Conway
Song: Stand (10-12)
Once Miss Maudie explained why it was a sin to kill a mockingbird, it became clear why the book had that name. One of the big themes in this book is the gradual loss of innocence during one’s life and the discovery of evil in the world or the destruction of their lives by the evil in the world. Many people in the novel are like a killed mockingbird, average citizens who were destroyed for no good reason. A huge example of a mockingbird in the novel is Boo Radley, who used to be a polite young man until his family isolated him from the world due to their religious beliefs, now perceived as an evil monster by the children of Maycomb. A small example of a mockingbird is Tim Johnson, the mad dog that Atticus shot in chapter ten. Tim Johnson was just a normal dog living his life when he turned ill and got rabies or something, making it necessary for him to be killed. Mrs. Dubose is another example, a woman who was put on morphine by the doctor and got hopelessly addicted to it. When she wasn’t given anymore of the drug, Mrs. Dubose spent the rest of her life suffering from severe effects of withdrawal and it prevented her from living a fulfilled life.
The Truth Revealed (5-9)
I enjoyed reading this section because it shed some light on the mysterious story of Arthur “Boo” Radley. Anyone reading the story could guess that Boo likely left those presents in the knothole. This shows that Boo likely just wants to befriend Scout and Jem and isn’t really a bad person. Later in the section, Nathan Radley later filled the hole with cement, claiming that the tree was dying. I think that he found out that Boo was giving Scout and Jem things through that hole, so that’s why he closed it. I think Boo is just the victim of an oppressive and antisocial family.
I don’t think its Boo’s fault that he never leaves the house or plays with the other children. Miss Maudie explained to Scout that the Radleys are “foot washing” Baptists that think any good feelings are sins. Miss Maudie claimed that all of the rumors about Boo were false, and since she is practically the opposite of Stephanie Crawford, what she says is probably true. My theory is that during Boo’s childhood, he rebelled against his family’s ways and hung out with people, having a good time and enjoying himself. Once his family was aware of his shenanigans, they did all they could to oppress him and try to make him more like the rest of them by locking him up and keeping him by himself. I think that when Jem lost his pants that one summer night, Boo did his best to help him by sewing them up and putting them where Jem could find them.
Sweet Home Alabama is the perfect song to represent the setting of the first four chapters, Maycomb, Alabama. Lynyrd Skynyrd realistically depicts the rural southern state and its culture, similar to that of Maycomb. It gives you a very serene and peaceful feeling that makes you just want to sit back and relax, just like the people of Maycomb, they don’t really do many interesting things and prefer to live their lives as calm as possible. The song can also represent all of the adventures Scout, Jem, and Dill have in their small town during the summer acting and trying to investigate the strange life of the mysterious Boo Radley.
In Maycomb, it looked like the school system wasn’t very good at doing its job. From what I understood, each grade level was in one classroom and the school wasn’t very large, but that’s mainly because it’s a small town. Scout mentioned that most of the first grade had failed it last year, which surprised me because that meant that either the students weren’t very motivated or that the system just wasn’t working. The implementation of the “Dewey Decimal System” probably meant that the school was trying a new thing that had potential to increase literacy and grades, but it was too forced upon the students. For example, Scout was punished because she didn’t learn to read by the new system and they discouraged free reading and writing.
The attendance of school in Maycomb should have been enforced more. When I read that the students were only required to attend school on the first day, I didn’t think that made much sense. Going solely on the first day isn’t doing much for the students and this likely contributed to the high flunk rates at the school. The new system should have included stricter attendance policies, which would also improve the literacy rates and grades. I understand that some of the families were in poverty and needed the help of their children, but that’s why students had Summer Vacation, to do just that.
