How Does Atticus Show Courage

Atticus Finch shows moral courage because he is defending an African American because he knows it’s the right thing to do. Atticus is standing up for what he believes in while the majority of the town is against him. In the book Atticus says “but there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending a black man. (Pg. 26 Chapter 9) This evidence shows that citizens of Maycomb do not agree with Atticus. Most people in his town are racist, so they believe African Americans should be treated unfairly. Atticus believes that all people should be treated fair and as equals. He does the job that is needed that others refuse to do. Atticus shows moral courage because he does exactly what he believes. He also treats people fairly. This shows that Atticus is a fair and honest

When Atticus took the case, he went up against Maycomb, a generally prejudiced town, in order to defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object of ridicule and that no one would forgive him for believing a black man's word over a white man's. Even his own sister expresses disapproval at his decision, practically telling him he was bringing disgrace to the family. Nevertheless, no matter how much his reputation suffered, he did not change his mind. Standing up for his morals and ethics was more important than what people thought about him. From the very start Atticus knows he will not win the case however he does his job and finishes what he set out to do.

Atticus Finch is remarkably courageous throughout the novel. Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face, goes to Tom’s cell knowing there would be a mob, and does his best in court to exonerate Tom. Firstly, Atticus does not retaliate when Bob Ewell spits in his face. Atticus says “ ‘...if spitting in my face saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take’ ” (Lee 218). Atticus is being disrespected in one of the worst ways by a man he could destroy, but knows that he was helping a victim of abuse, Mayella, so he does not make things worse by retaliating. Secondly, Atticus knows there is a mob coming, but nevertheless goes to Tom Robinson’s cell to defend him. Atticus knows the possibly dangerous mob is coming, with Scout observing “He seemed to be expecting them” (150). However, Atticus recognizes that he is Tom’s only hope, and utilizes his immense courage to face the mob. Thirdly, Atticus does his best to defend Tom in court. As Scout tells us, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (241). Atticus knows from the beginning he has next to no chance to win the trial, but still tries for Tom’s sake, for the other black people in the community, and for the chance he could appeal it and change laws for the good of African Americans. Atticus is an amazing example of courage in the face of adversity for his actions in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Moreover, every other character in the story can be said to have courage, especially Atticus. The book revolves around Atticus and how he has no fear to defend a black man. Atticus is a lawyer that always had justice and never accepts injustice. He defends a black man named “Tom Robinson” who is accused of rapping a white girl whose own father had infact raped. “I’m simply defending a negro his name’s Tom Robinson” “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee,100). These quotes show that Atticus is not afraid and is brave enough to hold his head up in town even if he defended Tom, an inferior in their society. It also shows how well educated and mature he is that he even connects his job to his kids and he always tries to be good to be the best in his kids’ eyes. He wanted his kids to get along with other people and for them to learn courage from them like Mrs. Dubose, for example.

According to Eleanor Roosevelt, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” (Goodreads). Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is represented by Atticus, Scout, and Boo Radley. In the novel, some of the characters learn a lot about courage. The novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Throughout the book, many characters have to find courage.

It took an unimaginable amount of courage for Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case knowing he and his children would be harassed by all the other townspeople. For instance, when “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water tank” (105). Also, Atticus knew he had a very low chance of succeeding in winning the case, but he took it anyways. He knows the town will think differently about him solely because he is defending a black man. He also knows that his children will be shown a lot of hatred. Even knowing this, Atticus takes the case and tries his best. Not only did he know he would take hatred, he also knew he would lose. But, he knew this case would define who he was “every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally”(96). While talking to the Judge he knows that he will most likely not win, but that does not change his mind. He knows just because Tom Robinson is black that he will not win. The Jury will see the white man who claims his white daughter was raped and believe him with no doubt. No matter what Atticus says to try to change the jury’s mind, he knows he can only try his best. To summarize, Atticus shows courage knowing not only that the town would hate him, but also that he would lose the

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

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird courage is defined as standing up for what one believes in. Throughout the part one of the book Atticus stands up for what he believes in even though he is heavily criticized. Out of every character introduced so far Atticus has shown by far the most cnjourage. Scout and Jem show courage by trying to communicate with Boo Radley even though all of the terrible rumors.

Atticus shows true courage by trying every way to help others who were in the need of it. First of all, it is courageous of Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case. Even his own family disagreed of taking the case because of the bias. He takes many risks when taking the Tom Robinson case. He risks the chance of critization by the people that live in the Maycomb County. Mrs. Dubose criticizes him when she said, “Atticus is a Nigger lover!’’ (100). With many prejudice people living in Maycomb County Atticus also risks the chance of not being re-elected for legislature. Secondly, it is

Atticus fears that his children will hear mean comments or will beat up due to the fact that he believes Tom Robinson is innocent. He is afraid that he has put his family in danger because of his choice to

Many people work diligently to attain the character trait courage. Courage cannot be easily accomplished as the definition of courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty. Courage is shown in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, as Atticus bravely defends a black person, Tom Robinson during history where racism was vivid. The theme of courage is ideally present via Scout and Boo Radley from the book To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee.

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.

In the book, Atticus was determined to win the Tom Robinson case, or at least try to. He doesn’t care what the outcome was in the past, and wants to change the outcome in the future. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (101) describes that since Atticus was defeated in the past doesn’t mean that he can’t try again to get a different result. The quote shows courage as well because Atticus wasn’t afraid to go against his own townsmen to do the right thing, regardless of what they were thinking. During the Robinson trial, many townspeople wanted Attics to drop the case, but he refused among threats and taunting. In this book, Atticus stated, “...before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself” (140), and this is showing that he doesn’t mind what everyone else is saying and he’s content with his decision to keep the case despite the consequences. Also, this shows that Atticus has courage and would do what is right even if other people didn’t approve of or like it. Lastly, as one progresses in the book, one would realize early on that Atticus is very courageous, and isn’t afraid of what’ll happen to him to save someone. In chapter 15, a suspicious man yelled from the lynch mob “All right Mr. Finch, get ‘em outa here… you got

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus exhibits courage. Following the events of Jem being punished for his acts of ruining Mrs. Dubose’s plants, on page 112, Atticus tells Jem, “It’s [courage] is when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” This is foreshadowing for Atticus’s main role of defending Tom Robinson. On page 215, Miss Maudie tells Jem, “I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant

Atticus knew there would be plenty of people who would not support him through the trial but he was still going to go through with defending Tom. Atticus has ethics and will always stick to those. He genuinely wanted to help Tom because “[he] couldn’t go to church and worship God if [he] didn’t try to help that man.” (Lee 139). He had known that the trial would bring trouble to him and his family.