What describes Mrs. Dubose?

What do the children learn from Mrs. Dubose?

Do they learn to trust?

That's the hard part. When kids get put in the foster care system it may feel like everyone is coming to take your kids away, you will have a court hearing, and suddenly be put on waitlists for anything you need - your own medical treatment, or even a bed for the night.

A year ago my children faced an uncertain future, a court hearing and a possible move. They had no idea of what to expect. Their behavior had improved tremendously since being placed with Mrs. Dubose; they ate better, learned to sleep through the night and they began to talk to one another, which, before, they never did, so quickly. My oldest daughter began to smile more.

But we didn't know what that meant at the time. We didn't know that all of the sudden there were two very needy, needy little girls that were responsible for. Our family has been through enough, though, that this year I'm hoping that when the year comes to an end and the foster child adoption is complete, we'll have learned what trusting someone means.

Mrs. Dubose taught us as she took a piece of my heart and let me know I am needed.

What describes Mrs. Dubose?

What is her relationship with the other characters?

What is the significance of the number 717? Where in the novel does Gertrude find evidence that she and Ethel are being followed? Where does Mandy tell Mabel the secret of her mother's identity? What are the implications of the number 717? What is Mabel's mother's real name? Why did she call herself Mabel? When does Gertrude begin to suspect Mandy's truth about their parents? What signs indicate that she begins to believe the truth? How does she react when the truth is finally told? Does she feel betrayed by her former best friend? Why does Ethel decide to leave Mrs. Dubose? When does Mabel make her first appearance in the book? In what ways does she resemble Mabel? How does Mrs. Dubose respond to Gertrude's "accidental" finding of her husband's will and Mabel's admission that she and Mabel are sisters? Why does Mrs. Dubose pretend that she doesn't know Ethel? Why doesn't Gertrude confront Mabel directly? Dubose claim to know who Gertrude's husband was? To what extent do Gertrude, Mrs. Dubose and Mandy have good reasons for being on Mabel's mind that the others may not understand? How does Gertrude, Mandy and Mrs. Dubose use each other in their plot to learn the truth about their parents? What does Mrs. Dubose suggest Mandy tell her former best friend about their parents? What do Gertrude's suspicions about Mabel tell us about her own life? Explain what Gertrude describes as Mrs. Dubose's vast superiority in knowing Mrs. Varnell's children and husband. Dubose think that Mabel isn't telling the truth about her father and her brother?

Why does Mabel confess her father's identity to Gertrude and Mrs. Do you think that Gertrude's attitude toward Mandy's mother is justified?