The Forms of True Bravery

Courage isn’t always bravery. Sometimes courage goes unseen. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, displays different types of courage. It is written from a point of view of a child whose name is Scout growing up in a Southern town with her brother Jem. Their father, Atticus Finch, is defending an African American man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The Finches mysterious neighbor in Maycomb County, Arthur Radley, whom the children have never seen until Halloween night, adds to the rising tensions in the town. The book teaches many lessons and sheds light on some of the problems we still have today. One of the lessons it teaches is courage. Courage is standing up for what is right, just like Atticus,

The way he speaks and the amount of thought he puts behind every word he says is proof of how knowledgeable he is. In the novel Atticus says,”You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This is an important quote to think about while reading the rest of the book because it also applies to Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley. It shows that Atticus is almost ahead of his time with the way he talks. Atticus' intellect shows in the way he addresses others and answers Scout and Jem's questions, as well as his perception of what others are thinking and how he avoids potentially sticky situations.

Lastly, Atticus shows his kids how to show courage throughout the book. Atticus was a good example of showing courage when he took the Tom Robinson case. He knew Tom Robinson needed help and Atticus showed that it is always right to help anyone. He said “This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience, Scout. I couldn’t go to church and worship god if I didn’t help that man (Lee 139).” Another example of Atticus showing courage is when he shoots the dog so it doesn’t hurt anyone. Atticus did not want to shoot anything,

Atticus Finch is a character from chapters 1-7 that demonstrates moral courage. Atticus shows moral courage. Atticus shows moral courage because he is an honest man. He often says to his kids to think of something from the others point of view, before someone judges them. “As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jems skin and walk around in it.” (Page 64 paragraph 1) He always looked for and opportunity to make his children better people. Atticus told Scout to think about what Jem did and imagine herself in that situation. This shows that

Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley is also very courageous throughout the novel. Boo contacts the children and gifts them items, wraps Scout in a blanket at Miss Maudie’s house fire, and rescues Jem and Scout from Bob

Moreover, every other character in the story can be said to have courage, especially Atticus. The book revolves around Atticus and how he has no fear to defend a black man. Atticus is a lawyer that always had justice and never accepts injustice. He defends a black man named “Tom Robinson” who is accused of rapping a white girl whose own father had infact raped. “I’m simply defending a negro his name’s Tom Robinson” “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee,100). These quotes show that Atticus is not afraid and is brave enough to hold his head up in town even if he defended Tom, an inferior in their society. It also shows how well educated and mature he is that he even connects his job to his kids and he always tries to be good to be the best in his kids’ eyes. He wanted his kids to get along with other people and for them to learn courage from them like Mrs. Dubose, for example.

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 is the ability to do something in the face of pain, grief or fear. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus serves as an example of true courage to the town when he shoots the sick dog Tim Johnson, defends Tom Robinson in his legal troubles and allows Mr. Ewell spit in his face.

Courage is shown within the characters of To Kill A Mockingbird in several situations.  The characters are challenged to face danger or pain without fear.  The courage they display gives them strength and deepens their self-understanding as the novel progresses.

Atticus demonstrates both definitions of courage in many parts of the novel. Atticus was talking to Scout when he said, “‘Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win’” (Lee 76). This demonstrates Atticus’s own definition of courage because he knows he’s not going to convince the jury that Tom was innocent but he was still going to put his best effort in and fight till the end. Equally important, Atticus shows little acts of courage throughout the

"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.

The value of courage in the face of adversity is shown in Ender’s Game and To Kill a Mockingbird. The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows courage when he is against the mob who is trying to hang Tom Robinson. “A flash of pain fear was going out of his eyes… He put the newspaper down very carefully adjusting its creases with lingering fingers. They were trembling a little.” (Harper Lee pg 152) In this quote Atticus realized that the mob was very dangerous, but he had to protect Tom Robinson. This is where Scout realized how much courage her father had. She saw that he did not back down and looked up to him for that. The author wants to tell the reader to have courage and to stand up for

Webster's dictionary defines courage as "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty." According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Chapter 11, Page 124) No matter how you define it, Harper Lee definitely portrays the theme of mental courage in this book. The book demonstrates that mental courage is fighting what you believe in no matter the consequence. It is one of the most predominant themes and is shown in many of the characters, including Atticus, Jem and Scout, who all show mental

“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.

Atticus is a very brave guy throughout the novel. He is defending a black man In a rather prejudice town and after what he hears from the fellow residents of Maycomb he still defends Tom. When Bob Ewell threatens me Atticus’ kids and even him he doesn't go tell the sherif or walk away he stands up for them. Bob says “he'd get them” which is ironic because he got himself. When a mob comes to where Atticus is discussing the trial with Tom Robison a mob of people come. Atticus stands up and puts himself between the mob and Tom, and this is very brave because I don't care how strong or well Atticus can fight a mob of people will surely take him down. Like farther like son Jem is a courageous kid.