John Keats Mrs. Dubose

Atticus calls Mrs. Dubose "a great lady", because he thinks she is courageous. During her dying months, Mrs. Dubose wish is to "die beholden to nothing and nobody." She "meant to break herself of" her morphine addiction before she died. She does that by having Jem read to her everyday for a month. Atticus says, "I doubt she heard a word you said. Her whole mind and body were concentrated on that alarm clock." The first day, Jem and Scout arrive at home at 3:45 p.m, but a week before the month ends, the alarm clock is set to 5:30 p.m. By the end of that month, she does have the alarm clock set anymore, she successfully quits morphine. Atticus describes her battle against morphine as somthing similar to the trial he takes in the summer;

It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody.

When Atticus says she "knew she was licked before she began", he is saying that Mrs. Dubose knew that it would be very difficult to quit morphine, but she tried anyway. Atticus tells Scout that he won't win the trial and that "the jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells'", but Atticus still defends Tom Robinson, because there "is no reason for us not to try to win" and "see it through no matter what." Atticus is showing Jem and Scout how courageous Mrs. Dubose is, because she sets a good example shortly before the family will have to suffer through the trial. Mrs. Dubose suffers everyday when she tries to quit morphine. She never gives up, despite that fact that it is "alright to take anything to make it (the pain) easier." Mrs. Dubose sticks to her almost impossible goal and wins. She has "real courage."