“Scout”ing Out Courage December 14, 2012 was a tragic day. The students and staff of the school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut were all victims of a school shooting. One six year old boy, Jesse Lewis, did a completely unselfish and heroic act. While being held in his classroom by a gunman, he sacrificed himself and yelled at the other students to run. Jesse knew when the right time to say this was as he realized the gunman had to stop to reload (Associated). The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are courageous as well. The setting of this novel is Maycomb, Alabama in 1933. The time period is only one generation after the Civil War. White people still show a great deal of racism towards blacks, especially in Alabama due to its loyalty to the Confederacy during the war. The courage shown in this book has a lot to do with racial problems as well as others. A fine example of fatherly courage is shown through Atticus Finch. His son, Jem Finch, is seen as a boy with an adolescent braveness. Also, Scout Finch shows her boldness by being true to her tough interior as well as exterior. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee sends these fictional characters through a plot of events to display and explain what she believes courage is.
Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, is portrayed as a heroic southern gentleman. Atticus has been thrown in positions where his courage has shown through. For example, Atticus risks his life to save Miss Maudie’s rocking chair when her house
When people think of heroes, they will likely think of Superman, Spiderman, or the Hulk, but Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has created a new hero. His name is Atticus Finch. Scout, Atticus’s daughter, says, “Our father didn’t do anything. He worked in an office, not a drug store. Atticus did not drive a dump truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone” (Lee 118). Although Scout does not consider her father to be neither youthful nor energetic, he does what all heroes do- he protects the innocent. The main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is destroyed and preserved innocence, and without Atticus protecting the innocent, all innocence would be destroyed. Atticus embodies the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird and shows heroism by setting a good example for the children and the townspeople, giving insightful advice to his children, and protecting an innocent African American man before the civil rights era had even begun.
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 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
Atticus Finch is a great example for everyone to practice equality and to not judge a book by its cover. Although a father is normally on his child's side, Atticus lets Jem and Scout know that no matter how the person acts or what they look like, they still need to treat them
A significant representation of courage is seen within Atticus. Within To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus speaks of the Tom Robinson trial as a trial all lawyers fear. He must face a court case that will have a profound personal effect upon himself and his family. Atticus summons the courage to recognize that there is a need for justice and that it is his duty to achieve this. Maycomb is a town tainted with stereotypes and racism. Atticus has the courage to overcome the fear of other peoples' dislike. He must face the fear of straining the lives of his two young children and family name. The courage Atticus embodies stems from his "satisfactory" character. Atticus is righteous and unable to turn his back on those who truly rely upon his ability to show empathy. He overcomes the heartless comments of those around them, to see the necessity of his involvement.
In both the novels To Kill a Mockingbird, by Lee Harper, and The Death of Innocence, by Mamie-Till Mobley, a parallel is evident between the themes of the works, as well as, their courageous characters. The fictional character Atticus Finch describes fortitude with stating “ It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” ( Lee 112). His ideals and fearless persona show similarities to that of Mamie-Till Mobley, who, in The Death of Innocence, fights for the civil rights movement after her son is murdered. Mr.Finch’s definition of bravery fits that of the figure Mamie-Till.
True courage is expressed by self-sacrifice, as courage is not only defined as being ‘brave’, but by putting yourself before others for a reaching hand. Recalling Harper Lee’s six year old experiences in which courage played a major role in her ages, from an adult perspective in, To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM), has remained enormously popular since its publication in 1960. During the 1930s it was mainly a prejudicial society, as it took real courage and bravery to do what Atticus, Scout and Jem did through the uneasy circumstance they were faced with; Atticus Finch defending an African American man in court. Jem and Scouts courage and bravery has transformed throughout the novel as they mature, diversifying from the roots of their well astonishing father, Atticus Finch.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a fictional novel that was published in the 1960’s. It tells the tale of a young girl named Scout, and her family who live in Alabama in the 1930’s where blacks still do not have equal rights. A black man is on trial for the supposed rape of a young lady, Mayella Ewell, and one courageous lawyer, Atticus Finch, the father of Scout, decides to prove his innocence even though the odds are stacked against him. In the novel courage is defined by a quote that states, “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyways and you see it through no matter what…” (Lee, 149).
Scout and Jems’ mother died when they were young, leaving them with their father and maid, Calpurnia. Their father is Atticus Finch, a well respected man among the community. When Atticus gets appointed to a difficult case, he has to take his young children through a rough time. Atticus is a good father because he shows courage, explains things to the kids, and is an honest man.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem and Scout Finch learn the true meaning of courage through their father, Atticus, and his fight against racism in their hometown. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout view Atticus as a boring older man that works in an office and does not deserve their admiration. At the turning point of the novel Miss Maudie tells them their father was once the “deadest shot” in Maycomb, and the children finally see Atticus as a role model. Jem and Scout learn from Atticus the true meaning of courage and their views of Atticus differentiate from not understanding him and therefore not admiring him, to an exciting man with marksman skills, and ultimately to a
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a main character and sometimes plays a heroic role throughout the plot. He demonstrates courage, bravery, and other noble qualities not only to the people of Maycomb, but also to his own children.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book following the life of a young girl named Scout and her many adventures through her eyes. Set in the 1930s in the state of Alabama, this book portrays how she navigates the world from her own view and learns many life lessons about injustice, inequality, and loyalty. One of these lessons comes from Atticus, Scout’s father, about real courage. As Atticus describes courage, he says, “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.
First responders put their lives on the line everyday and symbolize true courage and bravery in society. They fight even when everything has gone wrong and know they are not going to succeed. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows what true courage is when characters such as Atticus and Mrs.Dubose fight even though they know they are going to lose. The courage these characters demonstrate, along with Jem’s own courage, throughout the book teaches Jem what true courage/bravery is, and develops his character in a positive way which helps him in events at the end of the novel. Firstly, we see Jem develop these traits when he finds out what Mrs.Dubose was going through and how she fought with her illness. Secondly, when Atticus, Jem’s
Eleanor Roosevelt once stated, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop and look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ ” Likewise to what Eleanor said, courage is gained by experiences in which one undergoes, relative to the situations Atticus, Jem, and Boo Radley have to endure. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee communicates to her readers that the key to a successful life is courage by means of Atticus’s strong stance on the Tom Robinson case, Jem’s immediate protection of his family, and Boo Radley’s coming out of his house to save the Finch children.
Have you ever wondered what is the actual definition of courage? What about true acts of courage really are?