Acts of Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Courage isn’t always bravery. Sometimes courage goes unseen. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, displays different types of courage. It is written from a point of view of a child whose name is Scout growing up in a Southern town with her brother Jem. Their father, Atticus Finch, is defending an African American man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The Finches mysterious neighbor in Maycomb County, Arthur Radley, whom the children have never seen until Halloween night, adds to the rising tensions in the town. The book teaches many lessons and sheds light on some of the problems we still have today. One of the lessons it teaches is courage. Courage is standing up for what is right, just like Atticus,

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. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.”

Our world suffers with many issues such as racism, sexism, hate and prejudice, and society needs people that are strong enough to take a stand. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is displayed in several different forms, especially through three courageous characters. Lee introduces the concept of honorable courage through Mrs. Dubose, a woman who demonstrates that real courage comes from within. Another brave character in the novel is Tom Robinson. He shows everyone how difficult it is for a black man to be both honest and kind no matter the situation. The most courageous person would be Atticus Finch. Atticus is an important character that fits into his own definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it in numerous ways throughout the novel, as he goes against most people’s beliefs in order to do what he believes is morally right. Through these three brave characters, Lee tries to reshape people's stereotypical view of courage.

In today's society, courage is defined as the ability to succeed without changing who we are as a person or what we believe in hoot courage, justice is weak and society is corrupt. In Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird', courage is presented through the characters Atticus Finch and Mrs Henry Lafayette Dubose as they confront their issues and embrace life regardless of what others think. Harper Lee constructed her narrative during a time of prejudice and injustice against Black Americans; hence courage was vital to overcome the racial discrimination many faced Both Atticus and Mrs Dubose along with the crucial events in the novel teach Jean Louise Finch, as well as the audience, the significance of courage and create an understanding that courage exists in several forms, Courage is often seen as the physical bravery an individual can display in a fearful H ever, it is also when an individual knows there is no chance of winning, but continues to fight for what they believe in. Harper Lee constructs a masculine image of this type of courage through Atticus and his handling of the mad dog incident. When comparing Atticus to the other fathers in Maycomb, Jam and Scout think of him as old and feeble' though the mad dog occurrence reveals a side of him that had not yet been discovered by his children; that he was once the best marksman the town with the name of one shot Finch'. Heck Tate insists that Atticus should kill the diseased animal even though

Courage, as defined by Collins Dictionary, is “the quality shown by someone who decides to do something difficult or dangerous, even though they may be afraid”. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has created many characters who exhibit such courage, even in the face of adversity, and develops this into a major theme. Atticus Finch, Arthur Radley, and other members of the Finch household and Maycomb community, display amazing courage in the things they say, but more importantly in the way they act. These characters all contribute to the novel’s theme of showing courage through adversity.

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Atticus Finch. This quote is proved to be true in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee as it demonstrates the true definition of courage. The book takes you along the journey of young girl, Scout Finch, during a time where colored people are thought less of. She experiences this first hand as her father, Atticus Finch, has been assigned to defend a colored man who has been accused of raping a white female. Scout along with her elder brother Jem, learn the definition of courage through some of the characters and how they act to the events that occur before and after the trial. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, many characters are great examples of trusting yourself when all odds are stacked against you. Throughout the novel the characters that display courage are Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, one of Atticus Finch’s most significant qualities, courage, impacts the story. Throughout the book, Harper Lee portrays courage as doing something out of your comfort zone, for the greater good or a good cause. The first example shows how Atticus’s quality of courage impacts the story. Atticus is sitting in front of the jail cell where Tom Robinson, the African-American man he is defending, is being kept. When Mr. Cunningham and the rest of his followers confront Atticus, he stays strong, keeps his ground and doesn’t let anything happen to Tom. The interaction starts with Mr. Cunningham approaching Atticus, “He in there, Mr. Finch? He is, and he’s asleep. Don’t wake him up. In obedience to my father. There followed what I later realized was a sickeningly comic aspect of an unfunny situation: the men talked in near-whispers. You know what we want. Get Aside from the door, Mr. Finch. You can turn around and go home, Walter. Heck Tate’s around somewhere.”(171-172) Atticus stops Mr. Cunningham and his men from harming Tom before his trial. It took courage to stand up to men who are usually cordial with him resulting in Tom not being killed and allowing the trial to continue. In the second example, it shows how Atticus’s actions reflect what how Harper Lee believes courage looks like in everybody. Atticus is brought to a tough decision in whether or whether not to defend Tom Robinson. When Scout asks him about the case and why he decided

Courage is shown within the characters of To Kill A Mockingbird in several situations.  The characters are challenged to face danger or pain without fear.  The courage they display gives them strength and deepens their self-understanding as the novel progresses.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, courage can be found in every chapter and on almost every page of this book. Virtually every character in this book posses courageous qualities. In this novel, the Finches' are just a few of the people who endure harsh blows over about a three year period. However, each and every one of them step up to the plate with courage ready to strike. Atticus especially shows courage when he agrees to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus did not have to take this case, and everything that accompanies it. However, Atticus wanted to prove that being prejudice and racist is undoubtfully wrong. To try and convey this message was a difficult take to preform, but Atticus wanted the people of Maycomb to understand why he felt this way. Another charater who clearly shows courage is Boo Radley. Boo Radley was the person who killed Bob Ewell. Boo Radley did this because Bob Ewell was trying to kill Jem and Scout. Boo Radley, beyond a shadow of doubt, walked into that situation

"Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity.

Lee and Conolly shows the audience that courage tend to come in diverge forms. One form is physical courage. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus demonstrates courage in a physical sense as he finds himself in a face off with a loose rabid dog, only armed with a shotgun. " For God's sake, Mr. Finch, look where he is! Miss and you'll go straight into the Radley house!

Everyone has the potential for courage, however, not everyone takes advantage of it. Imagine the nerd taking advantage of talking to the pretty girl in the lunch-room and compare it to not taking the chance. Similarly, in Harper Lee’s story,”To Kill a Mockingbird”, characters employ their wits in order to overcome adversity. Frankly, when used, courage can help with the impossible.

“‘Atticus, are we gonna win it?’ ‘No honey.’ ‘Then why-’ ‘Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,’ Atticus said” (Lee 101). People are telling Scout that her dad is a quote on quote “nigger-lover”. Atticus tells her to not listen to them and resist to fight. Scout was asking questions about the case, and he explained what might happen. I think that this shows Harper Lee’s definition of courage because Atticus has a goal, and is going to finish it. Atticus knows that he will not will the case, but he is still going to fight. Atticus has courage for taking the case and knowing that they will lose. In the book Atticus says that he would not be able to walk around town if he didn’t take the case. This case is important and Atticus is helping because he needs to for himself. This is significant to the book because the case will happen soon and Atticus wants to tell Scout what will happen. “She said she meant to break herself off it before she died, and that's what she did” (Lee 148). Mrs. Dubose died and Atticus explains how she was a morphine

In order to survive in this world, one must have enough courage to clarify things in life and make them appear easier. Courage is what makes us individuals different from others. It shows in what we believe and the power of belief over will. There is no courage without risk but courage can be fearful. With courage we can stand up for what we believe is right or wrong. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch , Link Deas and Mrs. Dubose show courage in different ways. Atticus shows his courage by taking Tom Robinson's case and defending him. Link Deas shows his courageously and bravely by standing up for Tom Robinson. Also Mrs.Dubose shows her courage by trying to stop being addicted to Morphine before dieing. Each individual that

In spite of letting Scout and Jem think that courage is something that is physical like a battle, causing great hardship, Atticus explains to his kids that there is more to real courage than just what it is said to be stereotypically. One of the most significant examples of courage was Mrs. Dubose, who was a morphine addict, struggling to stay alive. She was battling death face to face. Even though she knew she would lose one day, she fought through it. In spite of Mrs. Dubose’s addiction, she was very courageous as Atticus explained “...instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what...she was the bravest person I ever knew.” (Lee 149) Another example of courage demonstrated in the novel is Atticus. Atticus was not a man to hide behind a gun. He felt like it was cowardly to hide behind something, and that real courage was a battle fought face to face. Atticus believes everyone should have a fair chance and equal justice in court. Even an African American man, which in the 1930’s showing equality in different races was frowned upon and shameful in society. Atticus knows that defending Tom Robinson, the African American man, was dangerous. The lynching mob that was after Tom Robinson could have hurt Atticus to get to Tom, and Atticus knew that a majority of the town of Maycomb