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 shows courage when he defends Tom from the lynch mob when he is going to jail, which could have ended in Tom being killed, brutally beaten and furthermore, could have lead to Atticus’ death and torture. In the novel, Atticus is sitting in front the jail doors reading a newspaper. He was opening, closing and folding it as if he was expecting a group of citizens to arrive. A massive group of men departed from their cars and began moving towards the jail doors. One man confronted Atticus and said "You know what we want. Get away from the door, Mr. Finch." "You can turn around and go home again, Arthur," Atticus said pleasantly. "Heck Tate's around somewhere”.(pg 202) This segment of quotations exemplifies that Atticus knew this group of men were going to arrive and he positions himself outside the jail doors ready to defend Tom.
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.
Miles Worster English 1 Mar 25, 2024 Mr. Romero Courage in Maycomb In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the most influential characters are those who display courage and pursue their goals despite difficulty. Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley display courage despite difficulty by standing up for the unrepresented, fighting addictions, and rescuing others. It’s easy to forget these small characters and acts of courage, but they all impact the story. One of the main characters Atticus Finch, the father of the protagonist Scout, not only shows courage but defies the racist and discriminatory society he lives in by working towards equality. Throughout the book, Atticus is shown as a source of wisdom and moral correctness; because of this, he is arguably the most
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
Atticus is willing to defend Tom Robinson because if he doesn't, then he wouldn’t be able to hold his head up or do anything because he took away somebody’s innocence. This shows real courage because Atticus is willing to stand up for the right thing, even though he knows he’s going to lose. Tom Robinson has courage and is willing to defend himself in court. He feels bad for Mayela Ewell and says how he feels bad for her. The town disagrees because of the caste system.
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
Finally, Atticus is fearless when he saves Tom Robinson from getting hurt from a mob. He was alone with those men until Jem and Scout showed up to the jail. Even
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
In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses indirect characterization to illustrate the definition of bravery. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus demonstrates the definition of bravery by standing up to his beliefs even though he risks upsetting the people of Maycomb. Specifically, as Atticus stands in front of Maycomb County in an attempt to protect Tom from physical retaliation, a lynch mob gets increasingly irritated with him. After Atticus announced he is responsible for defending Tom Robinson in court, he decides to stand in front of the jail Tom was placed in, anticipating retaliation against Tom because of his accusation of raping a white woman. Unfortunately, his suspicions were true.
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.
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.