Atticus Courage

Dubose does in her struggle with morphine addiction. Similarly to Atticus, the predicament Mrs. Dubose faces is a result of no fault of her own; she was introduced to morphine for medical reasons. When explaining Mrs. Dubose’s response to the situation she found herself in, Atticus says, “When you’re as sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did” (Lee 127). This characterization of Mrs. Dubose emphasizes the strength of her conviction; she knows she will die soon and that taking morphine will relieve her pain, along with clearly understanding how difficult it is to break free of a drug addiction, but she chooses to attempt to do so anyways. Her journey ends in success, as demonstrated by Atticus’s reply to Jem wanting to know whether Mrs. Dubose died free: “As the mountain air” (Lee 127). This simile shows that Mrs. Dubose’s dedication towards living by her principles, although it meant sacrificing her physical comfort, paid off at the end. Mrs. Dubose’s decision to take that arduous route shows that even a decision on a personal scale can show tremendous courage and have a tangible

It is rare to find a courageous and sympathetic person who is willing to stand against social injustice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus represents this rare hero. He is a lawyer and a single parent to his kids Jem and Scout. He understands that society should not be black and white and helps those who are mistreated. Not only does Atticus demonstrate acts of courage and empathy, he is also an excellent role model to his children. Atticus represents the qualities of a true hero by exposing injustice, and through courageous and sympathetic activities, teaching his children moral values.

Evidently, an unlikely hero in the book is Mrs. Dubose, who overcame her morphine addiction. At first, Mrs. Dubose is seen as an evil and filled with animosity towards Jem and Scout. Atticus reminds them to see it from Mrs. Dubose point of view before judging her. The fact that Mrs. Dubose knows that she will succumb, she tries to overcome her addiction of morphine. Atticus’ description of a hero is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (112). Consequently, Mrs. Dubose “… died beholden to nothing and nobody” (112).

It took an unimaginable amount of courage for Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case knowing he and his children would be harassed by all the other townspeople. For instance, when “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water tank” (105). Also, Atticus knew he had a very low chance of succeeding in winning the case, but he took it anyways. He knows the town will think differently about him solely because he is defending a black man. He also knows that his children will be shown a lot of hatred. Even knowing this, Atticus takes the case and tries his best. Not only did he know he would take hatred, he also knew he would lose. But, he knew this case would define who he was “every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally”(96). While talking to the Judge he knows that he will most likely not win, but that does not change his mind. He knows just because Tom Robinson is black that he will not win. The Jury will see the white man who claims his white daughter was raped and believe him with no doubt. No matter what Atticus says to try to change the jury’s mind, he knows he can only try his best. To summarize, Atticus shows courage knowing not only that the town would hate him, but also that he would lose the

Dubose to show that people are essentially good. “You know, she was a great lady….She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee, 115-116). Despite her ugly and outspoken racism Mrs. Dubose is a courageous and strong woman. She forgave Jem for ruining her flowers even though the flowers were very meaningful and special to her. “She was a lady. She had her own view about things, a lot different from mine, maybe...son, I wanted you to read to her because I wanted you to learn something from her. 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 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. She broke her addiction to morphine, which was a very hard thing to do. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (Lee, 149). She could’ve taken the easy way out and died pain free, but she decided that she was going to reach her goal no matter what. Atticus showed his integrity by not responding back with hateful comments back to Mrs. Dubose whenever she insulted him. Despite Mrs. Dubose’s racist comments towards the Finch family, she was a forgiving and kind lady till the

Atticus is one of the characters who proves that courage is about thinking long and hard about what's right instead of relying on personal prejudice or gut reaction, and then doing what's right whether you win or lose. 2Throughout the whole case Atticus supported Tom Robinson; he went against the whole town just to help an innocent man. 3Atticus did everything he could do to defend Tom Robinson, but when he failed it really hurts him. When Aunt Alexandra told Atticus that he would ruin the family name, he still refused to change his mind. Throughout the whole novel Atticus still fought for what he believed in. Atticus told Jem that "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it-whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (page 233). Atticus stood up to Aunt

Atticus shows true courage by trying every way to help others who were in the need of it. First of all, it is courageous of Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case. Even his own family disagreed of taking the case because of the bias. He takes many risks when taking the Tom Robinson case. He risks the chance of critization by the people that live in the Maycomb County. Mrs. Dubose criticizes him when she said, “Atticus is a Nigger lover!’’ (100). With many prejudice people living in Maycomb County Atticus also risks the chance of not being re-elected for legislature. Secondly, it is

Courage is being able to do what people believe is right without caring what others think. This is shown through the character Atticus in the novel To Kill Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To begin with, Atticus stands up for what he thinks is right when he sits in front of the jail protecting Tom Robinson from all the men that try to hurt him. During the confrontation at the jailhouse, Atticus and Mr. Cunningham say this to each other, “‘Get aside from the door Mr. Finch’ ‘You can turn around and go home again Walter’” (Lee 151). The men are trying to get through the door to Tom. Atticus knew the men were coming to get Tom, and he knew he had to stop them. When Atticus’s courage was questioned by Mr. Cunningham, he did not back down. Atticus showed his courage through

Beliefs are important to Atticus and many of his beliefs include of kindness, equal rights, and having courage. Doing what he believes in is highly important to Atticus, which is a reason that standing up for Tom Robinson was the right thing for Atticus to do. “ “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” “(Lee, CH.9). This quote shows us that Atticus had the courage and beliefs to stand up for Tom Robinson, and by defending him he stuck to his beliefs. Atticus’s courage to stand up for Tom was honorable not only for Tom and his community but also to the people against racism. Atticus always believed that being kind was the best thing to do and he shows this by standing up for Tom “ “...I do my best to love everybody…” “(Lee, CH. 11). This quote shows that Atticus is kind-hearted and that standing up for Tom was just another one of his acts of kindness. Since Atticus does his best to love everybody he felt it was a necessity for him to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus not only is kind for his benefits but also for his kids. He teaches his kids to be kind and to treat everyone equal and if he wouldn't have taken Tom’s case he would have been setting a bad example to his children. “ “I wanted you to see what real courage is…” “(Lee, CH. 9). This shows that Atticus is trying to be a good example to his

Atticus shows true courage by doing what is right and not what is easy. He sticks up for Tom Robinson even when the whole town is against him. This affects his social life and even the life of his children, but he realizes that believing in what is right is still important. But sometimes, holding a gun is not always true courage, true courage is working your whole life to fulfil your goals. Atticus says, “I wanted you to see something about her-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 you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what” (149). Mrs. Dubose was hated by Jem and Scout but when they realize the truth, they feel extremely guilty. She tried to get over her morphine addiction by having Jem and Scout help read to her. Atticus understood the truth, and he saw Mrs. Dubose’s courage. He knew she was extremely close to death but that didn’t stop her from trying to die

Atticus explains to Scout that the only conclusion doesn’t always have to be informed physically. In this novel, the most important act of courage that occurs through Atticus is his fearlessness towards the case. Atticus speaks of the Tom Robinson trial. He must face a court case that will have a serious personal effect upon himself and his family. Atticus recognizes the need for justice and that it is his duty to achieve this to make this town realize the discrimination and racism that lies between it.

While many would argue that Mrs. Dubose is the one being more courageous, because she is battling a morphine addiction, it also takes courage to stand there and take the insults. By doing this, Atticus is allowing Mrs. Dubose to win against her addiction. It would be easy for Atticus to shut Mrs. Dubose down when she insults him, but because he

Mrs. Dubose displays acts of personal courage in her honesty and strength. When Jem and Scout walk past her house to go meet Atticus on his way home,

Dubose who is a morphine addict. Atticus knows this so when Jem ruins her flowers, as a punishment he tells Jem he has to read to her for a month. After Jem completes his month of reading and several more months go by Atticus comes home from her house and tells Jem she has passed away. Atticus then tells Jem of her morphine addiction and how it was her goal to overcome it before she died. Atticus tells Jem, “when you are as sick as she was it's alright to take anything to make it easier. But it wasn't alright her” (Lee 148). Jem does not realize that Mrs. Dubose is addicted to morphine but he helps her overcome her drug addiction and die drug free. Mrs. Dubose has a lot of courage to attempt her goal, and she never gave up even though the odds were not in her favor.

Atticus wants to teach Jem and scout to keep fighting even though you may not win. He tells them to keep calm and keep their heads up in an unpleasant situation, he wants to teach them that true bravery is when you keep fighting and persevering even though you know you are going to lose. When students at school start saying that Atticus "defends niggers", Scout responds with anger but Atticus does not want her to do so. " When Scout asks why Atticus is defending a black man Atticus replies by saying "he won't win the case but has to take it in order to keep his integrity". He tells scout that even though people might say mean things to she could keep her head up and avoid fighting. even though Mrs Dubose was going to die soon, that did not