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How Does Atticus Show Courage

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously once said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself”. What Roosevelt really meant by saying this is that the fear we have for something or someone will only make it worse. Courage, most often times, can be defined by the actions that someone makes as a result to something that they fear. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Atticus, Scout, and Jem, face many fearful obstacles in which they have to overcome their fears to move through them. Although many readers may believe that Jem displays the most courage, Atticus is the one who truly displays the most courage due to the fact that he had to face many difficult tasks in the courtroom and at home. Despite all the hatred he received …show more content…

It’s not until more than halfway through the plot that Jem realizes the legitimate importance of his father's actions in both of their lives. An event that Scout remembers quite vividly is the Tim Johnson incident. When they saw Tim Johnson, Heck Tate and Atticus were discussing who would take the shot, and Heck Tate made the final argument that Atticus has the better shot out of the two of them. It is important that is only takes one shot to wipe out Tom Johnson, because if he does not go down with one shot, the do not know how he will react. Heck Tate shortly exclaimed, “Mr. Finch, this is a one-shot job. … I can’t shoot that well and you know it! Mr. Heck Tate almost threw the rifle at Atticus. I’d feel mighty comfortable if you did it now” (Lee 127). Heck Tate was really trying to get Atticus to take the shot, even though Atticus was reluctant about it. It then occurred to Atticus that they dog needs to be taken care of, for everyone’s safety. This took an immense amount of courage from Atticus. This also shows how Atticus is civilized at heart. He did not shoot the dog until he had too, which you can not say the same about many of the townspeople in Maycomb. Atticus had the courage to do something no one else wanted to do, while risking himself at the same

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