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To Kill A Mockingbird Examples Of Courage

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The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is shown by a number of characters, including Jem and Atticus, in different forms.

Jem is the first character to display the idea of courage in the novel. He demonstrates courage when Dill dares him to touch the side of the Radley house at the end of chapter one. Jem is scared at first, but he overcomes his fear and he runs up to the door and slaps it with the palm of his hand. Because of the courage he has within him, he was able to confront his fear. This is an example of Jem's early physical courage. As Jem matures, his idea of bravery …show more content…

In this case, Jem stands up to his father, as he believes his presence will protect him. Another significant act of bravery is when Jem and Scout are heading their way home from the school auditorium. Jem thinks he hears a someone's footsteps, following them from behind. Suddenly the hear whoever that's following them start to run in their direction, and Jem’s first instinct was to scream: “Run, Scout! Run! Run”(261)! In addition, while desperately trying to get Scout back home safely, Jem shows further bravery by trying to fend off their attacker and trying to pull Scout home with him. Jem not only puts the lives of others before his own, but also by handling the situation in a very adult-like manner. Anyone lacking either physical or mental courage will freeze in terror and could not have been able to try to fight off the attacker and escape to safety. Jem is a very compelling character, who grows immensely throughout the novel. When the book begins, Jem’s understanding of bravery was very narrow, understanding only physical courage. Courage exists in several forms, such as physical courage and mental courage. As Jem slowly matures throughout the novel, his perceptions of courage change. For instance, when the book begins, Jem’s understanding of bravery was very narrow, understanding only physical courage. However, as he matures, and his experiences increase, he begins to understand and demonstrate different forms of

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