Moral Courage, By Harper Lee

“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.

According to Eleanor Roosevelt, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” (Goodreads). Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is represented by Atticus, Scout, and Boo Radley. In the novel, some of the characters learn a lot about courage. The novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Throughout the book, many characters have to find courage.

Courage can be defined in many different ways as shown by Anne Sexton’s “Courage” poem and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Anne Sexton would say courage comes in small acts and in these small acts of courage is what teaches people how to find the strength within themselves to accept things the way they are. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, would argue that courage is perseverance and fighting till the end even though the battle has already been lost. This novel takes place around the 1930s, and is told through the eyes of Scout Finch. From her, one might learn about her father, Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly aims to prove the innocence of a black man wrongly accused of rape. Both of these definitions, however, apply to three of the characters in the novel; Atticus represents both his definition and Anne Sexton’s, Scout represents Anne Sexton’s and Mrs. Dubose, an elderly woman addicted to morphine, represents Atticus’s.

There are two different types of courage, physical and moral. Physical courage is facing fear using force or other physical means, while moral courage is defending what is right, even in the face of popular opinion. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, moral courage is a significant theme. Atticus Finch teaches his children, Jem and Scout, the importance of moral courage. Throughout the novel each character discovers courage in their unique experiences. By the end of the story, Jem and Scout’s idea of courage shifts and they learn the importance of moral bravery. Atticus, Jem, and Scout all learn or demonstrate the meaning of moral courage throughout the novel.

"Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity.

Courage can be defined in different ways as shown by Anne Sexton’s “Courage” poem and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Sexton would say courage comes in small acts and in these small acts of courage are what teaches people how to find the strength within themselves to accept things the way they are. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in the novel, would argue that courage is perseverance and fighting till the end even though the battle may have already been lost. This novel takes place around the 1930s, and is told through the eyes of Scout Finch. From her, one might learn about her father, Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly aims to prove the innocence of a black man wrongly accused of rape. Both definitions of courage can be found in three characters in the novel; Atticus’ determination to help Robinson, Scout’s ability to conceal her emotions, and Mrs. Dubose’s perseverance to fight till the end.

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).

When Scout and Jem first began to shoot, Atticus told them they could “shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Harper Lee uses the image of a mockingbird to represent innocence often, and by having Atticus claim that it was a “sin” to kill a mockingbird, she is able to represent Atticus’s views on defending Tom Robinson. Although it would have been easier to side with the rest of society against Tom Robinson, Atticus decided to take the case anyway; this decision subjected him to the scrutiny of the rest of the community and caused Atticus to be attacked by others. While everyone turned a blind eye to the overwhelming evidence that declared Tom Robinson was innocent, Atticus chose not to ignore this and fought his hardest to get the town to vote against the Ewells. Atticus’ faith in his beliefs portrays one important form of courage- standing up for the innocent despite the threat of danger and the social status it

Courage is fearlessness and doing what others are too afraid to do. This theme statement applies specifically to the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird contains a recurring theme about courageousness, and how it relates to and affects the lives of many in the small town of Maycomb. Characters such as Mrs. Dubose, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley show readers how they fight and stand up to their problems by overcoming them with integrity and courageousness. In the book, the author attempts to show the readers that courage is standing up for what is right, for the sake of humanity.

In the book, “To kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee explores the concept of moral courage. It's the courage of one family who begins to overcome the gossip and prejudice in one small town. To me this means, for example, Atticus left his towns bubble which was very racist and old fashioned to stand up for what is right. Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout, he is the town lawyer and he believe that everyone should be treated equally. Jem is the son of Atticus he is maturing and follows in his father's footsteps. Scout is the narrator of the story and she doesn't understand a lot of things but her father's quote “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view till you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” helps her understand why people do things a lot better. Boo Radley is the…. Tom robinson… Bob ewell….Mayella…

Courage is usually shown as having great strength and bravado. However, there is another kind of courage, the quiet, humble type, in which an individual stands for his beliefs and principles. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, is filled with many themes and lessons, but the overriding theme is courage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty and intimidation, to stand for what is right. Many of the book’s characters depict this virtue, but none more than Atticus Finch does. He shows courage as a parent, lawyer and member of his community. Atticus believes that courage, like charity, starts at home.

Persecution of the innocent, a common occurrence in human history, has unfortunately stayed present in our modern era. Muslims are assaulted by islamophobes who assume them to be dangerous to us, and countless black people have been wrongfully shot by the police. These people show modern example of the motif of mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The book takes place in rural Alabama during the Great Depression, a time when lynching black men for false crimes was common. One of these men, Tom Robinson, is accused of rape by Mayella Ewell and is to be defended by Atticus Finch in trial. Lee expresses how it is wrong to harm those who did nothing to bother others, or ‘mockingbirds’, using the characters of Boo Radley,

To have compassion is to have the ability to show a deep understanding towards one’s situation, and to be able to reflect that understanding in a conscientious manner. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, compassion is a central theme as it is the rise and fall of many of the characters. Atticus, Tom Robinson and Scout were all able to show compassion in dire situations even if it may not have been what most people would have done.

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to 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."- Eleanor Roosevelt. You are not born with courage, it's something that’s created over time. Being courageous is never a lucid decision, it determines the quality of a person's mind as it's faced with difficulty, danger, pain, and a test of bravery. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee develops the theme concerning courage to show the difficulty and the necessity of acting boldly. The characters Atticus, Scout, Arthur Radley and Mrs.Dubose display an act of courage as they are faced with feasible but difficult situations.

Courage is the quality of mind that enables one to face danger with confidence, resolution, and gain a firm control of oneself. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird showed courage in their own way. Courage can come in many different forms: physical, mental, emotional and moral. Courage is not the only main theme displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird; prejudice and education are also very important themes exhibited throughout the progression of the novel. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl, these themes of the novel are explored in great depth.