How Does Atticus Show Real Courage

“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.

“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 anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Lee p. 128) To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee about two children named Scout and Jem and their father Atticus Finch. The plot revolves around the children growing up and all the things the family goes through as a result of their father defending a black man accused of rape in court. Courage is doing the right thing even if you’re afraid to do it. Atticus, Scout, and Jem each display courageous acts throughout the novel, even when it was difficult to do so.

When we think of the word courage, often times, images of your classic heroes come to mind. Heroes such as masked men and women in caps fighting crime, or a soldier fighting in war, or leaders of change putting their lives on the line for something they believe in. While it is true that these classic heroes show courage, it is not always a hero who is courageous. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird we see an ordinary man named Atticus, living as a lawyer in the south, who is perhaps one of the most courageous characters in literature. Atticus shows courage throughout the book when he takes the case, stands in between Tom and the group of men who want to kill him, and in his closing statements of the trial.

In To Kill A Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, tells the characters time and again show courage not only in their actions but also in their personalities as individuals. Throughout the story we are informed on: Scout, Jem, and Dill. They all show courage in the things they do around Maycomb as in: school, home, the Radley house, Mrs. Dubose, and several places throughout Maycomb. The children’s feelings towards Boo Radley are in a way mixed, when I say mixed I mean they feel intimidated, a little scared, but also the feel sorry for him since he’s always inside. We also observe Atticus’ courage in defending an african american, which at the time was a big deal especially in the south.

Where would we be without courage? Many of the most important events that have happened in our world took great amounts of courage. The civil rights movement, equal rights for women, ending slavery. These all happened because someone stood up to something much bigger than them and say that they believe it’s wrong. Many of the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird have this trait and show it throughout the novel. Courage in To Kill A Mockingbird is to always do the right thing no matter how easy or hard it might be. The most obvious showing of courage in the novel is Atticus Finch. When a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, the odds are entirely stacked against the defendant. Atticus is given the hopeless job of defending this man, and the outcome is

Atticus is a bit different than all the other fathers because he doesn’t play sports with his children and he doesn’t really do the things that the other fathers would do. When there was a mad dog near Atticus’ house he shot the mad dog. The surprising thing about this was that no one was expecting this to happen since Atticus never uses a gun. Atticus came to his house and ‘yanked a ball tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle cracked.

When Jem and Scout discover Tim Johnson approaching them, they run to tell Calpurnia who then calls Atticus. Atticus comes home with the town sheriff Heck Tate, who is unable to shoot and hands the gun to Atticus. Atticus, hesitant at first, takes the gun even though he is uncomfortable and nervous, “Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin; we saw him blink hard.” However, he still shoots the dog because he knows it is the only way to ensure the neighborhood’s safety and it will end the dog’s misery, “…he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle cracked.” Jem sees that Atticus’ action required moral courage because even though he didn’t want to, Atticus still shot the dog because it was the best thing to do in the situation.

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird shows us a theme of Courage . In the book To Kill A Mockingbird told through the eyes of Scout shows us life in Maycomb back in the 1930’s. When Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella causing a lot of events in which the characters had to show courage in some shape or form to help the society become a whole. Atticus, Boo Radley and Jem show courage and created positive a change in their society.

Jem and Scout are extremely surprised when they discover their father is a talented marksman. Atticus never mentions or uses his talent; he is reluctant to shoot a gun even when it is deemed necessary. The children wonder why Atticus has never told them of his talent; in their minds, marksmanship is an impressive and glorious skill. They discover Atticus' motive for this omission when he mentions he does not want his children to get the "idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.

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

Depending on the person, the idea of courage has many different meanings. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird's, the definition of courage is “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” (149). The novels definition explains that one needs to do the right thing even if one doesn’t win.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a tremendous display of courage. When Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem, that was a true of courage especially being how Boo never goes outside his house. Another display of courage, was when Atticus defended Tom Robinson. As Atticus took the rifle in hand to shoot the rabid dog was being courageous when Heck Tate couldn't shoot it. Mrs. Dubose was one of the most courageous people Atticus knows. Having been a morphine addict, the woman chose to go through her final days without being tied to anyone or anything. It took true courage to face her death, feeling every ounce of pain.

In chapter 10 there was a “mad dog” or a dog with rabies stumbling down the road “He walked erraticlly, as if his right legs were shorter than his left legs” (Lee 106). Cal was so nervous about the situation she called Atticus to come put down the dog and which he used his courage to use his hidden talents “Atticus was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in the time” (Lee 112). Atticus had a hidden talent that only few new about which was how accurate of a shot he was which was displayed when he had the courage to take out the sick dog with one deadly shot that very few could do. Also, Atticus had many other talents such as being a lawyer that he did not brag about or need to talk about because he knew when he needed to he could prove it. This took real courage from him to stay as humble and silent as he was about his skill at his profession. After Atticus proved his skill behind the rifle he told Jem “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents” (Lee 113). This ability he has to teach his kids to be humble or to have the courage not to brag or talk about their talents was an amaznig aspect towards Atticus’s courage.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear” (Mark Twain), this ties in with Atticus’ and his definition because he masters fear and is resistant to it; he takes the case and is not feared by Bob’s presence. One of the many topics in this book is courage; it is used many times in the novel and in life. It is explained many times in this novel; whether it is through Harper Lee’s use of courage, how courage is defined and the character who exemplifies courage the best. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird courage is expressed by many characters in many different examples.

How do you define courage? Atticus Finch's definition is basically knowing your beat before you enter something. Atticus is the definition of courage. Between handling his kids and dealing with a court case he's almost like a hero. Atticus handles it all and handles it well.