Courage Redefined
According to French Author and Nobel Literature Prize winner André Gide, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Likewise, humanity will not be able to grow and develop without the knowledge and possession of courage. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee teaches the definition of true courage. The story takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, where Scout is growing up. The first part of the story is mainly focused on Scout’s childish adventures. Everything changes in the second part when Scout’s father Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of a capital offense he did not commit. Scout witnesses firsthand the injustice of racism at the trial of Tom Robinson, and the events surrounding it. Throughout these events, Scout learns about what courage is perceived to be, and what it really is. Harper Lee’s book teaches that courage is the ability to back down from
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When Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, the white population of the town is baffled as to why Atticus would defend somebody whom they believe is surely guilty. The information spreads that Atticus is defending Tom, and Cecil Jacob, one of Scout’s classmates, announces in the schoolyard that Scout’s father defends “niggers”. Scout fights Cecil at first, but when Cecil again brings up that topic the next day, Scout “...drew a bead on him, remembered what Atticus had said, then …walked away”(102). Although there will inevitably be some name calling directed at Scout after this incident, Scout is undeterred and backs down from the fight, knowing that the insults will not affect her in the long term. This shows that Scout has the courage to know that unimportant matters are not worth fighting
The word “courage” has many definitions. Some people say that courage is being able to face one's own fears, while others say that courage is a person with a strong heart. Harper Lee exhibits true courage as standing up for what one believes in even when it signifies imperilling something precious.
Surrounded by lions, Daniel stood firm, not flinching because God stood beside him. Daniel had faith in God so he did not have fear. Bravery means many things. It means standing up when hard times come and still trying even when life gets scary. Many think bravery means not being afraid, but it means to keep going even when fearful. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus chooses to not care what other people think, even if it means putting himself in physical danger. Showing bravery in the face of trouble asks for commendation. When situations became difficult, Atticus, Tom and Scout all showed immense bravery.
Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird If you go and survey people on how they define courage, you are bound to receive many varying responses. This is because the idea of courage is subjective, and courage means something different to everyone. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is defined by doing what each character believes is right.
Courage is something you do to frighten someone or something. The book To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The Main characters are Atticus, Jem, and Scout. Atticus is a lawyer and a father of two children. He is a lawyer that is trying to defend a black man because he was charged of raping a white girl. This book is all about what courage is and how life was back on the 1930s.
In literature themes of courage are very often seen in the story’s main character. However, some pieces are an exception. Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” demonstrates that every individual has the capability of being courageous. First, marginalized citizens are capable of being selfless in order to help a community that may not treat them equally. Next, The youth of a community are represented as children being courageous when adults put them in situations requiring them to be. Finally, courage is also displayed an adherent for a marginalized group stands in the face of racism, opposing societal norm. All these types of characters that Harper Lee has created demonstrate one thing: Courage is a virtue which everyone can exhibit when fear forces him or her to act.
Iakovlev1 Daniel Iakovlev Mr. Petersen Language and Literature, Period 1 24 November 2015 Courage In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are plenty of virtues but courage is best shown by Atticus, Scout, and Miss Dubose. Written all over this book was courage, the reason is Atticus has shown the most in this novel. When Atticus took the decision to go and talk to Scout about how she did the wrong thing at Finch Landing that took a lot of courage from Atticus.
In the early thirties, race was a major controversy. Especially in Maycomb, which was a racially divided town. The citizens either hated colored people and were held on a pedestal or liked colored people and were treated as the dirt of the earth. Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, and Boo Radley all showed courage when faced with the nation’s biggest decision.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is shown by a number of characters, including Jem and Atticus, in different forms.
Courage means to have the strength to do something that frightens you knowing it will be difficult or dangerous. Someone can only show their courage through their words and actions.To Kill A Mockingbird is a book by Harper Lee.It revolves around young girl’s life called Scout. Scout lives in Maycomb with her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their cook, Calpurnia. Scout and Jem go through many things and witness many act and types of courage. Different types of courage have been expressed in the book like moral, physical, and emotional. Harper Lee shows the significance of these courages through her characters.
The novel shows different issues and morals, one of this morals is bravery. In the scene when Jem had to read to the mean old lady, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose every afternoon as his punishment for demolishing all her Camellias until she went to her final resting, the siblings learns about real bravery.
Courage - according to the Oxford Dictionary courage is: the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery. OR: Strength in the face of pain or grief. In To Kill a Mockingbird acts of courage help us, as the audience, to understand the characters better.
Courage is the act of doing something that frightens you. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many signs of courage is shown. The novel takes place in the 1930’s during The Great Depression. They are from the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. During the novel, there is a trial between Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella, a white women. Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children see how their father is treated during this case and learn more about society. The children resemble innocence, and atticus resembles courage.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, bravery is shown not to lead to happiness in the case of Tom Robinson. The court is going to believe a black man raped a white woman not the disturbing one (in their eyes) about a black man pitying a white woman. There was no way that the racist jury could prove that Tom raped Mayella. However, there was one jury member who was willing to acquit Tom, a relative of Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham was part of the mob that tried to lynch Tom. This relative did not have any access to additional evidence, he did however have a connection with a person who felt sympathetic for Tom Robinson during the defense. This was probably enough to ignite him to go against accepted opinion and acquit Tom. However, Tom Robinson in the
One of the way To Kill A Mockingbird shows courage is through the form of moral courage. An example from the book that represents moral courage is “If I didn’t… I couldn’t even tell you or jem not to do something again” (Lee 75; ch. 9). This shows moral courage because Atticus had to do the right thing in order to be a good role model and parent to his children. By turning down this opportunity to do the right thing would result in Atticus beinging a hypocrite, which doesn’t represent a good role model for Jem and Scout. Another quote from the book is “I’m simply defending a negro man” (Lee 75; ch. 9). This represent moral courage because Atticus didn’t pay attention the race of the defendant, but simply the case. In both example, Atticus went against what everyone believed in to do the right thing, which takes courage.
Atticus Finch is a man who has a philosophical definition of courage. He doesn’t believe in the stereotypical version like Jem, instead he finds people courageous if they keep trying even when they think they won’t succeed. His idea of courage is shown throughout the novel. Atticus finds Mrs. Dubose very brave because “according to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody” (112) that was his real meaning of courage. She was doing her best to get rid of her morphine addiction before she died. Even though she knew that there was a large possibility that she would die before she could stop, she still persevered and tried her best. In this case though, Mrs. Dubose beat the odds and accomplished her goal. In her last minutes, she knew