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 * Tolerance in To Kill a Mockingbird**

Tolerance: to accept and allow the presence of others beliefs or actions. Tolerance is much more than just a word or a definition. It is a necessity in the society that we live in. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee establishes her theme of tolerance by using the characters in her novel. Some of these characters include Scout, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus.

Scout, the main character, starts off as a sassy young girl who is always up for a fight. Besides being the narrator, she is also Harpers Lee’s narrator. Scout lacks the wisdom and understanding that comes with age, making her an unreliable narrator. When Atticus was watching over Tom Robinson for the night and the mob came for him, Scout came along with Jem and Dill. Scout didn’t realize the danger of the situation she just walked into. She spotted Mr. Cunningham in the crowd and said, “Hey Mr. Cunningham…Don’t you remember me?” (153). She didn’t understand why the crowd was there. Jem and all the others understood but due to how old Scout was, she just stayed there like it was a family gathering or something.

Mrs. Dubose was older and obviously didn’t have the problem that Scout does. Mrs. Dubose was the crazy, old, grumpy lady down the street. That’s what Jem and Scout thought of her. Atticus and the other adults knew the actual reason Mrs. Dubose behaved the way she was. Unfortunately, she was a morphine addict. When Scout was walking by her house, Mrs. Dubose was on her front porch wrapped in all her shawls. Scout politely said, “Hey, Mrs. Dubose.”, she got in response, “Don’t you say hey to me you ugly girl!” (99). Everyone had to tolerate the way Mrs. Dubose acted and Mrs. Dubose herself had to tolerate the rumors about her until she past away.

Mrs. Dubose was Atticus’s hero. After Mrs. Dubose past away, Atticus explained to Jem what real courage was. “…I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know your licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do….She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (112). While he was defending Tom Robinson, he had to tolerate all the peoples thoughts and comments on him. Everywhere he went he had to be seen as “the man defending the black guy”. Atticus was a very strong character in the story.

It’s given that we have some tolerance but if we could just have a little more, there might not be so much stress. People need to learn to just go along with things and how to control themselves. We need to learn how to accept the things that people do and the way people act. Not everything needs to be complained about or stressed over. No matter what happens life still goes on.