Bravery means being loyal to your beliefs, being fearless in the face of danger and valiant at heart. Our society values the ability to be heroic. Firefighters and policeman are the epitome of bravery, but, occasionally, an ordinary person dares to be just as courageous. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, three innocent children face the tribulations of a town engulfed in racism while their father, Atticus, confronts the issue with a trail that could revolutionize the future for African Americans. The first gallant act that displays the bravery Atticus possesses would be when he faces a mass of angry Maycomb citizens. In this scene, Mr. Heck Tate accompanied by other men show up on Atticus’s door step; Heck says he does not expect any trouble by Atticus counters the idea saying “Don’t be foolish, Heck,”...”This is Maycomb” (Lee 194). Atticus was brash when he objected to the idea that Tom would be safe. Atticus demonstrates his valor, yet again, when he stands up to a mob that has formed at the jail where Tom was being held, “You can turn around and go home again, Walter” …show more content…
The consequence of this choice could have been grave. If Atticus missed, he could have murdered a member of the Radley house. Due to the fact that Atticus is partially blind in one eye, the risks are amplified further. Furthermore, Atticus could have lost his own life if the dog had managed to bite him. Conversely, a few individuals believe that the cons did not outweigh the pros, they thought the dangers involved were too great but Atticus proved his skills when “with movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder” (Lee 127). The fact that Atticus so confidently controlled the gun after years of never even grasping one allowed readers to witness the incredible bravery that consumed
Atticus’ courage in this event involves him standing up to the mob with lethal intentions while he was unarmed and he was willing to put himself at risk or be possibly killed to save Tom’s life. Atticus stands for what he believes in to the highest capacity and he would not become a bystander or a part of the problem. As a result of Atticus’ boldness, Tom asks “Mr. Finch? They gone? Atticus stepped back and looked up. They’ve gone. Get some sleep, Tom. They won’t bother you anymore.”(pg. 206) This quotation reveals Atticus standing up to the gruesome mob making Tom safe, unharmed and alive. Furthermore, Atticus is safe and unharmed and most importantly, the mob did not accomplish their horrific goal of lynching Tom Robinson. Thus, his courage lead to the positive outcome of survival for the both of them. In addition to the lynch mob event proving Atticus’ courageous acts, Atticus also is courageous when he shoots the rabid dog in front of the Radley’s
When Atticus finished talking to Mr. Underwood, Scout, Jem, Dill, and he walked home. As one can see, Atticus shows bravery by doing what is right.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a character by the name of Atticus Finch explains to his child “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 it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” (128). Atticus is teaching his son an important lesson about courage, while using his own to take on a seemingly impossible task.
Atticus put him self in danger when he said he would take the case. There were mobs who wanted to kill Tom. For instance there was a group who went at night who were planning to kill Tom, but Atticus was there to prevent it. “You know what we want...Get aside from the door finch.”, “You can turn around and go home agin, Walter, said Atticus pleasantly.” This shows that Atticus put his safety in danger to defend Tom.
One day Calpurnia sees a mad dog and calls Atticus and Maycomb’s sheriff. Atticus arrives at the scene of where the mad dog is and he takes the risk of whether saving people or causing the dog to get even madder. He kills the dog with one clean shot and it shows courage because not many people can shoot good after many years of not shooting and under pressure like Atticus did. All in all Atticus showed courage throughout the story many times, and like he said “real courage is fighting for what is right whether you are right or
Calpurnia, Atticus’ housekeeper, spotted a mad dog down the street. They called Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff, and he brought Atticus with him to the scene. Tim Robinson, the mad dog, was slowly advancing down the road and they were running out of time. They decide to shoot the dog before it gets ay closer and hurts somebody. Heck Tate takes the gun but realizes he can not get an accurate shot from that far and gives the gun to Atticus, because he knows he can hit the dog in one shot. Atticus resents shooting the dog, and states that, “I haven't shot a gun in thirty years---” (Lee 127). This shows that Atticus puts others needs before his own because he is very uncomfortable when dealing with guns, yet he does it anyway to make sure everyone is kept safe. Atticus knows that the town's safety is mandatory, and does whatever he can to make sure it is kept
Nelson Mandela once said, “I learned that fear and courage was not in the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” This quote relates to Harper Lee’s Atticus Finch. In the novel, Atticus Finch is a symbol of bravery in Maycomb. His children, Scout and Jem, learn from him, and that is what causes them to lose their innocence, and focus on how people are acting in Maycomb towards racism. Atticus defends a black man, named Tom Robinson, even though people that supported his opponent, Bob Ewell, were mean to him. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus portrays the theme of courage in the face of evil through defending Tom Robinson, the confrontation with Bob Ewell, and when the men came to hurt to Tom Robinson in his jail.
He teaches his children to stand up for what is right but not always easiest. His definition for courage doesn’t mean using violence but suing wits. He defines courage like this: “When you know you’re beaten before you begin, but you begin anyway and stay with it till the end.” Atticus’s
First off, Atticus shows courage when he shot a sick dog named Tim Johnson. A quote that proves this is, “Jem and I watched our father take the gun and walk out into the middle of the street quickly”(127). Atticus shows courage in this situation by killing an animal that was a danger to the people of Maycomb. He also had not fired a rifle in 30 years. Atticus showed courage by acting in a way that was not comfortable to him. Tim Johnson
It takes a great deal of bravery to shoot a living thing. Atticus displays tremendous courage because he shoots a dog. Even though it is a mad dog, killing something must take a strong personality. Atticus had to shoot Tim Johnson because Heck Tate was afraid of missing. Atticus is a symbol of courage because he shows that no matter what the situation is, he will come through even if nobody else
There are many courageous people in this world including fire fighters, soldiers, police officers and other citizens that show random acts of courage. One person in particular that is a very courageous person is Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Throughout the novel Atticus shows great courage even when he knows things might not go the way he wants and he doesn’t stop or give up, he tries even harder and that shows true courage.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, one of Atticus Finch’s most significant qualities, courage, impacts the story. Throughout the book, Harper Lee portrays courage as doing something out of your comfort zone, for the greater good or a good cause. The first example shows how Atticus’s quality of courage impacts the story. Atticus is sitting in front of the jail cell where Tom Robinson, the African-American man he is defending, is being kept. When Mr. Cunningham and the rest of his followers confront Atticus, he stays strong, keeps his ground and doesn’t let anything happen to Tom. The interaction starts with Mr. Cunningham approaching Atticus, “He in there, Mr. Finch? He is, and he’s asleep. Don’t wake him up. In obedience to my father. There followed what I later realized was a sickeningly comic aspect of an unfunny situation: the men talked in near-whispers. You know what we want. Get Aside from the door, Mr. Finch. You can turn around and go home, Walter. Heck Tate’s around somewhere.”(171-172) Atticus stops Mr. Cunningham and his men from harming Tom before his trial. It took courage to stand up to men who are usually cordial with him resulting in Tom not being killed and allowing the trial to continue. In the second example, it shows how Atticus’s actions reflect what how Harper Lee believes courage looks like in everybody. Atticus is brought to a tough decision in whether or whether not to defend Tom Robinson. When Scout asks him about the case and why he decided
Courage, as defined by Collins Dictionary, is “the quality shown by someone who decides to do something difficult or dangerous, even though they may be afraid”. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has created many characters who exhibit such courage, even in the face of adversity, and develops this into a major theme. Atticus Finch, Arthur Radley, and other members of the Finch household and Maycomb community, display amazing courage in the things they say, but more importantly in the way they act. These characters all contribute to the novel’s theme of showing courage through adversity.
Atticus demonstrates his courage the most when he defends Tom Robinson. He knows that it is near impossible to win, but he does it anyways because it's the right thing to do “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (101). Furthermore, Atticus puts himself in danger to protect Tom Robinson from the Old Sarum bunch and their attempt to lynch him “I don’t look for any trouble, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be any….” (194). Lastly, after the trial finished, Bob Ewell stopped Atticus at the post office corner and spat on his face looking for a fight. Atticus only answered with “No, too old” (291), but the real rationale behind this is he wanted to save Mayella Ewell from another beating because Bob would need to take it on someone and Atticus as the amazing man he is, chooses himself. In conclusion, Atticus is undoubtedly a very courageous man who always goes with what he believes is right and not what others say is right.
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.