Jem:
Regret is a hard thing to bear. It isn’t a regret of much
really, just of not knowing. Of what Atticus would call ‘judging a book by its
cover’. Maybe if I had known she wouldn’t have been all that horrible in my
mind. But I doubt it. I'm talking about Mrs Dubose that is.
Atticus said she was a great lady. To think, Mrs Dubose, a
great lady? I guess you could say I personally didn’t see it. To me, the person
who continually insulted me and said rude things about my family was anything
but lady-like. But then again I didn’t know the whole story.
I was never more surprised than the day Atticus told me she
died. It was a day I learned an important lesson: never to judge someone
without knowing the reasons behind their actions. See I didn’t know Mrs Dubose
was a morphine addict, nor how much pain she went through trying to break this
habit. I guess she was strong in her own way, just like Atticus said. For sure
she had her own views, and was quite set in her ways, but she had courage.
Maybe if I had know I’d have treated her differently, been
more understanding and, I guess you could say, tolerant. Foe sure it wouldn’t
have made reading to her any more pleasant with her horrible appearance and
that stench, but maybe it would have been a bit more bearable knowing I was
easing her pain. Atticus said she didn’t have to do it, you know, but she chose
to anyway, even though the odds were against her. That’s what I would call
admirable, and I guess that’s what made Mrs Dubose a lady: her true courage.
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