Real Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird , is a fictional novel, written by Harper Lee, that make connections to historical events including her life in the 1930’s and the Civil Rights Movement in the 50’s and 60’s.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless novel that has been both accepted and refused by many readers. To Kill a Mockingbird took place is a town called Maycomb. It is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, who learns how to deal with many things in her life. While learning to deal with racism, injustice, and criticism, she also finds courage being showed by many of her role models. The theme courage is best depicted through Boo Radley, Scout and Atticus.

Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success. One will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble; courage is simply the foundation of integrity. What someone does in these moments of being very brave will reveal how strong someone really is, regardless of how much weight someone can deadlift. The courage of each character in "To Kill A Mockingbird" manifests itself in their battles against the corrupt forces of their world.

"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.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird courage is defined as standing up for what one believes in. Throughout the part one of the book Atticus stands up for what he believes in even though he is heavily criticized. Out of every character introduced so far Atticus has shown by far the most cnjourage. Scout and Jem show courage by trying to communicate with Boo Radley even though all of the terrible rumors.

Our world suffers with many issues such as racism, sexism, hate and prejudice, and society needs people that are strong enough to take a stand. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is displayed in several different forms, especially through three courageous characters. Lee introduces the concept of honorable courage through Mrs. Dubose, a woman who demonstrates that real courage comes from within. Another brave character in the novel is Tom Robinson. He shows everyone how difficult it is for a black man to be both honest and kind no matter the situation. The most courageous person would be Atticus Finch. Atticus is an important character that fits into his own definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it in numerous ways throughout the novel, as he goes against most people’s beliefs in order to do what he believes is morally right. Through these three brave characters, Lee tries to reshape people's stereotypical view of courage.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the book’s characters show courage. Courage is shown when a character stands up for their beliefs, even when they face heavy opposition. They decide to fight even when they know they will most likely lose, or even if they are the only one fighting. Courage is standing up for one’s beliefs, even if it means standing alone against the whole world. Three characters who show courage are Mrs. Dubose, Atticus Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley.

An event in the novel in which courage is displayed is when Mrs Dubose fights to overcome her morphine addiction. Her decision to quit morphine despite the pain it would cause her to do what she thought was the right thing to do was very brave of her. "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”. This quote demonstrates Mrs Dubose’s determination to stay true to her beliefs and achieve her goal. Nobody would have judged her for continuing her use of the drug but she felt that she had to and so did what conformed to her moral standards. Mrs Dubose was a Christian and believed in heaven and when she arrived there she wanted to be free from sin. This incident in the book is a great learning point for both Jem and Scout as it shows them that although courage is not always obvious doesn't mean it isn't important. Mrs Dubose didn’t have to stop to taking morphine, but chose to and her dedication to see it through to the end is a good way for Lee to portray

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.

Atticus Finch is remarkably courageous throughout the novel. Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face, goes to Tom’s cell knowing there would be a mob, and does his best in court to exonerate Tom. Firstly, Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face. Atticus says “ ‘...if spitting in my face saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take’ ” (Lee 218). Atticus is being disrespected in one of the worst ways by a man he could destroy, but knows that he was helping a victim of abuse, Mayella, so he does not make things worse by retaliating. Secondly, Atticus knows there is a mob coming, but nevertheless goes to Tom Robinson’s cell to defend him. Atticus knows the possibly dangerous mob is coming, with Scout observing “He seemed to be expecting them” (150). However, Atticus recognizes that he is Tom’s only hope, and utilizes his immense courage to face the mob. Thirdly, Atticus does his best to defend Tom in court. As Scout tells us, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (241). Atticus knows from the beginning he has next to no chance to win the trial, but still tries for Tom’s sake, for the other black people in the community, and for the chance he could appeal it and change laws for the good of African Americans. Atticus is an amazing example of courage in the face of adversity for his actions in To Kill A Mockingbird.

In the 1980s, the majority of the people living in the South had very conservative and prejudiced views. During this period, Jim Crow Laws made society very segregated. Public facilities were usually divided by “Whites Only” and “Colored” signs that were designed to make African Americans feel sub-human. African Americans had to live in poorer areas of a town and most could not go to school. Few Caucasians were openly sympathetic towards them out of the fear of getting rejected by society. Supporters of equality risked their reputation and sometimes their lives. Therefore, people who challenged segregation had to be extremely courageous. In To Kill a Mockingbird, which character displayed the most courage? The evidence gathered from the story indicates that Atticus Finch was the most courageous character.

What is courage? Is courage saving a man from an avalanche? Is it standing against the crowd? Falling in love? Courage can be defined as many things. It could be as simple as wearing unusual, risking the chance of being judged by those around you. Harper Lee forthrightly establishes how gallantry can be displayed by many different types of people in the compelling book To Kill a Mockingbird. Despite many characters, such as Mayella and Scout showing courage, Atticus Finch is by far the most dauntless.

“... 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 not matter what” (Lee, 11). This book is a story about two siblings that experienced many things throughout the whole book, most of them hard and new to them, but at the end, they assimilated to face these things. Their father, Atticus, was a lawyer who did everything at his hands to always do the right thing, and as a result of that, Jem and Scout met several circumstances that other kids weren’t exposed to and they learned to forgive and and appreciate others the way they are. Compassion and forgiveness are perceptible in this book and appreciable things like Camellias, and Red Geraniums can represent such strong emotions.

"I wanted to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun." What kinds of heroism and courage are shown in To Kill a Mockingbird? Discuss.

Courage is strength. Courage is honesty. Courage is standing one’s ground no matter what. Courage is standing up for others. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem Finch, along with their father Atticus, live in Maycomb County, a small, mainly racist town in Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finch family’s neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus display acts of personal courage in the story. Specifically, Mrs. Dubose displays courage in her honesty and strength, and Atticus displays courage in his responses to racism based threats and keeping others safe.