“... 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 through it not matter what” (Lee, 11). This book is a story about two siblings that experienced many things throughout the whole book, most of them hard and new to them, but at the end, they assimilated to face these things. Their father, Atticus, was a lawyer who did everything at his hands to always do the right thing, and as a result of that, Jem and Scout met several circumstances that other kids weren’t exposed to and they learned to forgive and and appreciate others the way they are. Compassion and forgiveness are perceptible in this book and appreciable things like Camellias, and Red Geraniums can represent such strong emotions. The author of his novels was Harper Lee. Lee was born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four children (three girls and a boy) born to Amasa Coleman Lee and Francis Cunningham Finch Lee (Shmoop). For most of Lee 's life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving the house. It is believed that she may have had bipolar disorder (Shmoop). In 1944, Lee left home for Huntingdon College, a women 's school in Alabama, where she joined a sorority (Shmoop). She attended three colleges, studied law, and was briefly an exchange student at Oxford, but she received no degrees (“Harper”). In 1960, Lippincott published
However, he is still willing to do so out of his love. Moral education wise, Atticus passes on knowledge of many critical and beneficial ideals to Scout. For example, Atticus makes Scout and Jem read to Ms. Dubose as "punishment" for Jem smashing her flowers. During this period, the children learn a lot about Mrs. Dubose's situation, as well as her underlying character/persona; they realize she is a compassionate, brave, and tenacious woman. (In the end she give Jem the single White Camellia as token of her gratitude.) Afterwards, Atticus tells them "I wanted you to see something about her - I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that it’s a man with a gun in his hand." (Chapter 11, Page 112) Here, and throughout the whole experience he put them through, Atticus is teaching his children about the ideal of courage; it is not simply the use of violence, rather, it is the determination and persistence to succeed even against seemingly insurmountable odds. This is how Atticus shows his love for Scout by educating her in a variety of fields. (And through various methods)
The most important lesson Atticus teaches Scout and Jem is that real courage isn’t from physical intimidation, but from a mental standpoint.
Born on April 28th 1926 Nelle Harper Lee grew up in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama. Nelle did not act as a normal girl was expected to during her younger years. She ran around acting tomboyish and only did what she wanted to do. Harper had four older siblings, a mother who was a homemaker and mentally ill, and a father who was a lawyer. During her time in high school, Nelle found a love of writing and went to the Huntingdon College. Although she studied law at the University of Alabama before this, she loved writing more and went to New York to expand her writing skills. Then, in 1960 Nelle published To Kill a Mockingbird but she was not a fan of all the reporters and the fame. After publishing To Kill a Mockingbird, Nelle Harper Lee
An event in the novel in which courage is displayed is when Mrs Dubose fights to overcome her morphine addiction. Her decision to quit morphine despite the pain it would cause her to do what she thought was the right thing to do was very brave of her. "when you’re as sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her”. This quote demonstrates Mrs Dubose’s determination to stay true to her beliefs and achieve her goal. Nobody would have judged her for continuing her use of the drug but she felt that she had to and so did what conformed to her moral standards. Mrs Dubose was a Christian and believed in heaven and when she arrived there she wanted to be free from sin. This incident in the book is a great learning point for both Jem and Scout as it shows them that although courage is not always obvious doesn't mean it isn't important. Mrs Dubose didn’t have to stop to taking morphine, but chose to and her dedication to see it through to the end is a good way for Lee to portray
There was a lot of courage to come through this book as well as racism and prejudice. Some of the characters were faces with fear and dangers as well. Scout’s courage on the first day of school showed a lot about her and how she tried to explain to Mrs. Caroline the Cunningham’s way of life, also when she tells Mrs. Caroline Atticus taught her to read. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, on (17) Mrs. Caroline tells Scout “Let’s not let our imaginations run away with us” when scout tells her the first book she read was The Mobile Register.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, This essay is going to prove how Atticus and Mrs. Dubose both show their own version of moral courage and how it has influenced others in this novel. The first point is that Atticus shows moral courage by fighting for what he believes in, no matter the consequence or the result. The second point is how Mrs. Dubose shows a specific meaning of moral courage by overcoming a tough physical and mental obstacle.
Atticus teaches Jem and scout a number of important lessons which will help them in life. However tolerance is one of the most important, because if people tolerate one another then things like war or racism will not exist, and they are two of the biggest areas of conflict in the world. Atticus models tolerance for his children by taking the case of and accused rapist. He defends a black man even though most of the town is against it and treat him discourteously because of it. Scout went against her father’s wishes by not
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird there is a theme of courage throughout the story. Harper Lee’s message about courage is that adults and children can be equally courageous. Harper Lee wants her readers to know that courage can be shown in many different ways. Some of the courageous acts in this story are when Atticus takes the case for Tom Robinson, and when Scout stands up for Walter Cunningham. Other examples include, when Boo saves Scout’s life from Bob Ewell and when Mrs. Dubose overcomes her addiction. All of these actions display Harper Lee’s message of courage.
Jem and Scout look up to Atticus and have the highest regard for him. Atticus purposefully teaches his kids valuable life lessons such as do not kill a mockingbird, stand in other people’s shoes, and show respect. When they learn about a “non-boring” secret--he is the best shooter in town-- from Atticus’s “boring” life, they learn yet another life lesson, in addition to Atticus’s overarching lesson, do not kill a mockingbird, an innocent life, but they also learn about what is important in life. Atticus “kills a mockingbird”, the dog, in order to protect his family. The fact that Jem wants to stay “humble” about his father’s skill with a gun while Scout wants to “brag” individualizes the two characters.
On April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, Nelle Harper Lee was born to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. Along with her siblings, Alice, Louise, and Edwin, Harper was educated in Monroeville Public Schools before going on to attend Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. After a year at Huntingdon, Lee decided to follow in the footsteps of her father and began studying law at the University of Alabama in 1945 [2]. She left there to study abroad at Oxford University, Wellington Court in England [4]. After returning to the United States, she continued her education at the University of Alabama. However, in 1950, six months prior to completing her law degree, Lee moved to New York hoping to begin
“What is Moral Courage? It is the ability to distinguish right from wrong and having so distinguished it, be prepared to say so, irrespective of the views held by your superiors or subordinates and of consequences to yourself.” This is a quote by Sam Manekshaw, the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal, and it perfectly sums up what moral courage is. Moral Courage is to know when something isn’t right, and say something about it whether or not your peers approve. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there was a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a woman named Mayella and was found guilty even though the evidence says otherwise. Also during 1931, a trial that prosecuted 9 boys for raping two women was an extremely prejustice case. In both cases, the innocent were found guilty and wrongs were not righted due to the civil injustices at that time, and moral courage was not shown in either of these cases except for the few to speak out.
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” (Maya Angelou). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and the Scottsboro trials, various types of courage are displayed. These types include the courage to act for the good, the courage to persevere, the courage to accept, and the courage to sacrifice for loved ones.
Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, AL. Recently, she died on February 19, 2016 in her hometown. One of her most famous books published, To Kill a Mockingbird, occurred on July 11, 1960. It instantly became a success and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. The novel received positive reviews and achieved bestseller status. The plot and characters loosely resemble the author’s observations of her family and neighbors along with an event that occurred near her hometown around age 10. Many people look at To Kill a Mockingbird as autobiographical of Harper Lee’s life. Lee’s father is similar to the character Atticus Finch, being an attorney who defended two African Americans accused of murder. Also, Lee had a brother who like
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill. This quote defines what it is to be courageous, to be courageous is to persevere even if you know you will fail. This kind of courage is the courage which both Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. In Stranger Than Fiction, an IRS agent, Harold Crick, with a monotonous life learns that you must not only survive, but you must truly live. This lesson is taught through a series of events that lead to his breaking out of his shell and truly living his life. The events are preliminarily put into action through Harold hearing the voice of the author of a book about his life. In To Kill A Mockingbird, a tomboyish six-year-old, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, discovers the true meaning of camaraderie and bravery. Her friendships are strong but her definition of courage is flawed. In the end, she realizes a great truth, that to really know someone, you have to imagine yourself in their shoes. Courage is important to these two characters, as they both discover what it really means to be brave and what the true definition of courage is. Courage is not always outspoken, sometimes courage is knowing that you will fail, but trying and failing anyway and then accepting your failure.
To have courage is to be brave in the face of adversity. After the death of Mrs Dubose, Atticus uses the fact to show Jem how she had influenced him in her lifetime. When Jem returns from tearing up Mrs Dubose’s camellias in a fit of rage, Atticus sends him straight back over to apologize to the old lady for his actions. In return to her for his mistakes, Jem was to make it up to her, by coming over and reading to her everyday for a month. As Jem makes his way through the long days, he finds it very hard to cope.