The Importance Of Courageous Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

When people think of heroes, they will likely think of Superman, Spiderman, or the Hulk, but Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has created a new hero. His name is Atticus Finch. Scout, Atticus’s daughter, says, “Our father didn’t do anything. He worked in an office, not a drug store. Atticus did not drive a dump truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone” (Lee 118). Although Scout does not consider her father to be neither youthful nor energetic, he does what all heroes do- he protects the innocent. The main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is destroyed and preserved innocence, and without Atticus protecting the innocent, all innocence would be destroyed. Atticus embodies the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird and shows heroism by setting a good example for the children and the townspeople, giving insightful advice to his children, and protecting an innocent African American man before the civil rights era had even begun.

Boo Radley is another example of a character who symbolizes the mockingbird. Boo Radley is and innocent and harmless man who was accused of things he didn’t do. He did not mutilate animals or eat them raw, and he didn’t poison pecans. In the early chapters of the book he is thought to be a monster by most of Maycomb. Jem and Scout never saw that part of him. Boo gives the children gifts and even save their lives when they are attacked by Bob Ewell.

Dill represents childhood innocence.When Tom is examined by the prosecutor he cries. "That old Mr.Gilmer doin' him thataway, talking so hateful to him[...]It made me sick, plain sick"(pg 198-199)He also brings a sense of adventure and exploration, particularly with Boo Radley. He sparks the interest with Boo Radley.(scout tells what jem said)"[...]He said it began the summer dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea to make Boo radley come out."(pg 1)His family is very different from the Finch's. He has a broken family and is not payed attention to. On the other hand Atticus takes his parenting seriousley even more so because they don't have a mother. Unlike the Finch's, dill has hardly any adult supervision and even ran from home to spend his summer with scout and jem. His presence brings contrast to the lifestyles..

The idea of mockingbirds in this text carries great symbolic weight, mockingbirds are considered the innocents in the novel. It is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird, which symbolizes the destruction innocence. Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, Jem and Mr. Raymond can all be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil.

The Mockingbird has a very deep and powerful meaning in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. It represents peacefulness, innocence and kindness which is portrayed through the characters of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. The mockingbird's influence can also be applied to the relationships between humans. The Mockingbird is a powerful symbol that echoes a strong meaning throughout the novel.

Can you stand the sight of innocent people getting hurt everyday? In wars, bomb blasts, or even in local or personal issues. They are innocent people who do nothing but help us or they just don 't bother us, just like a mockingbird.…………………………. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson could both be the symbolic “mockingbird”.

Matt Berman from Common Sense Media commented, “This richly textured novel, woven from the strands of small-town life, lets readers walk in the shoes of one fully realized character after another.” To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the major messages is identity. Harper Lee lets the people look into the perspectives and identity of some of the characters that make it seem very life-like. In the novel, many characters possess both admirable and dislikable qualities which are shown through their actions. With the nurturing of her father, Scout contains the charming qualities of being courage and mature for her age. The father that instilled these characteristics in Scout, is Atticus Finch. While dealing with the stressful case of Tom Robinson, Atticus maintains to keep the likable aspects of sympathy and strong will. The antagonist in this novel fighting against Tom Robinson is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell has instilled, in him, the terrible qualities of cruelty and racism. These life-like characters that Harper Lee illustrates gives people a clear vision of who the characters portray.

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 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.

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.

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.

Courage is universally recognized by all men in every single culture, yet what it truly means is usually mixed up with physical strength or using an advantage no one else had to win. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, True courage is defined as fighting as hard as you can in a fight that may not be in your favor, or facing a situation you are terrified of. Through her character's, Lee shows this definition of courage. Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur (Boo) Radley all show tremendous courage throughout the book by defending a dead man, beating an addiction, and preventing a murderer from stealing the lives of two innocent children.

In Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows the children that Maycomb is prejudice, teaches them courage, and the children show maturity. Scout and Jem are children of Atticus who's assigned to defend Tom Robinson is his case and throughout this case Scout’s summer neighbor and friend, Dill, Jem, Atticus, and Scout exuberate of these themes in their actions .Prejudice is when one pre-judges another based on their race, gender, age, or sexuality which one don’t understand and one hates the unknown of another. Courage is doing something without the fear of being judged or fearing the unknown. Maturity is learning lessons and applying them to oneself where one start to display adult characteristics. These

Mockingbirds, like children, are generally a joy for most people and don’t mean any harm. Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird is representing innocence. Dill, Jem, and Scout are all trying to do the right thing, however sometimes the people in Maycomb disagree with what the right thing is. In Harper Lee’s detailed novel, Dill, Jem, and Scout disrupt Maycomb’s orderly community by being fearless, thoughtful, and unique.

There was never a moment where I just thought of myself as a reader while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I felt as though I was right beside Scout as she grows up and learns important lessons about life. One of the many lessons that impacted me greatly was the one about how courage can come in different shapes from the most unexpected people I know. Another lesson involved choosing to fight back people with my head despite the fact that they are using violence on me. I have learned more than two lessons, but these two were the most important to me.