How Does Lee Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

Courage isn’t always bravery. Sometimes courage goes unseen. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, displays different types of courage. It is written from a point of view of a child whose name is Scout growing up in a Southern town with her brother Jem. Their father, Atticus Finch, is defending an African American man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The Finches mysterious neighbor in Maycomb County, Arthur Radley, whom the children have never seen until Halloween night, adds to the rising tensions in the town. The book teaches many lessons and sheds light on some of the problems we still have today. One of the lessons it teaches is courage. Courage is standing up for what is right, just like Atticus,

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.

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Atticus Finch. This quote is proved to be true in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee as it demonstrates the true definition of courage. The book takes you along the journey of young girl, Scout Finch, during a time where colored people are thought less of. She experiences this first hand as her father, Atticus Finch, has been assigned to defend a colored man who has been accused of raping a white female. Scout along with her elder brother Jem, learn the definition of courage through some of the characters and how they act to the events that occur before and after the trial. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, many characters are great examples of trusting yourself when all odds are stacked against you. Throughout the novel the characters that display courage are Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.

Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is represented many times. Atticus represents courage when he takes the Tom Robinson case, stands up to Bob Ewell, and when he shoots Tim Johnson. Scout represents courage when she stands up for Walter, punches cousin Francis, and when she breaks up the mob. Boo Radley represents courage when he kills Bob Ewell, saves Scout and Jem, and strokes Jem. Courage is still very important because if we don’t have courage, then we won’t take risks. If we don’t take risks, then we won’t achieve

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

Dubose to teach a lesson of courage and strength in a form that is not immediately clear to the reader. While most of the town sees Mrs. Dubose as a crotchety old woman it later becomes clear to the reader that she was never a truly bad lady. After her death Atticus explains to his children, “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… She was the bravest person I ever knew” (128). Mrs. Dubose’s addiction affects only her temporary behavior. While she does not approve of Atticus, most of the insults said to his children are not sincere. If she truly believes her words, she will not allow them into her life. Atticus does not want his children referring to his shooting of the mad dog as a courageous act. The “real courage” he is speaking of is facing a situation with knowledge that negative consequences will occur. Mrs. Dubose knows that ending her addiction will cause pain in her life, but she continues to do what she believes is right. As a result, her fortitude is passed on to Jem and Scout. She was born as a good person, and she died as a good person. Additionally, Mrs. Dubose is an example of determination and tenacity. Atticus explains to Jem, “She meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did” (127). When she realizes she is addicted to morphine, it is Mrs. Dubose’s intention to free herself of it before her death. She recognizes a flaw in her life that needs to be fixed. Jem and Scout provide distraction to help achieve this. With their assistance, she is able to survive longer periods of time between each administration of her addictive painkiller. Most people would choose to surrender and die relatively free of suffering, but Mrs. Dubose continues to fight until she reaches her end goal. She pays little attention to her physical pain, but more to following her moral values and overcoming something she believes

Throughout the novel there are many characters who show that they have courage. Atticus Finch teaches

  Early in the novel, Scout illustrates the courage she embodies.  On her first day of school, Scout acts as an ambassador for the entire class.  She takes the duty of informing Miss Caroline of Walter Cunningham's situation.  Miss Caroline had just scolded Scout for her ability to read, however, Scout still feels the classes' need for leadership.  Most children at her age would fear speaking

Though Scout greatly disliked Mrs Dubose, Atticus showed Scout her courage, and taught her to do what she thought was right, even if it was difficult and distressing. "I wanted you to see what real courage is... 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. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she

Courage can be defined in many different ways as shown by Anne Sexton’s “Courage” poem and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Anne Sexton would say courage comes in small acts and in these small acts of courage is what teaches people how to find the strength within themselves to accept things the way they are. Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, would argue that courage is perseverance and fighting till the end even though the battle has already been lost. This novel takes place around the 1930s, and is told through the eyes of Scout Finch. From her, one might learn about her father, Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly aims to prove the innocence of a black man wrongly accused of rape. Both of these definitions, however, apply to three of the characters in the novel; Atticus represents both his definition and Anne Sexton’s, Scout represents Anne Sexton’s and Mrs. Dubose, an elderly woman addicted to morphine, represents Atticus’s.

Scout shows courage in this book mainly but doing what is right and sticking to her word.

In a smaller perspective, Scout had shown courage in many places in the novel. For instance, she showed courage when Atticus had asked Scout not to fight anyone. She was being asked to change how she reacted negatively to people’s comments. This showed a lot of bravery because Scout used to fight a lot, but since she promised Atticus that she wouldn’t fight anymore she stuck to her word because she didn’t want to disappoint Atticus. Another example is when she continues to learn how to read and write with Atticus even if she gets scolded by her teacher. She shows courage because she is going against what her teacher had told her. Finally, she acts like an ambassador on the first day of school. She has the guts to act like someone really important. Being a follower of her fathers’ character traits, she hasn’t learned the true meaning of courage that her father, Atticus displays.

Beliefs are important to Atticus and many of his beliefs include of kindness, equal rights, and having courage. Doing what he believes in is highly important to Atticus, which is a reason that standing up for Tom Robinson was the right thing for Atticus to do. “ “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” “(Lee, CH.9). This quote shows us that Atticus had the courage and beliefs to stand up for Tom Robinson, and by defending him he stuck to his beliefs. Atticus’s courage to stand up for Tom was honorable not only for Tom and his community but also to the people against racism. Atticus always believed that being kind was the best thing to do and he shows this by standing up for Tom “ “...I do my best to love everybody…” “(Lee, CH. 11). This quote shows that Atticus is kind-hearted and that standing up for Tom was just another one of his acts of kindness. Since Atticus does his best to love everybody he felt it was a necessity for him to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus not only is kind for his benefits but also for his kids. He teaches his kids to be kind and to treat everyone equal and if he wouldn't have taken Tom’s case he would have been setting a bad example to his children. “ “I wanted you to see what real courage is…” “(Lee, CH. 9). This shows that Atticus is trying to be a good example to his

In summary, the Finch family are the only individuals who show real courage throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird. Scout proves that she can stand up for herself and others, Jem takes care of his family because he cares and loves them, and Atticus does not listen to what others tell him is right, but what he believes is right. Although humans are the only species to have the ability to possess courage,

First of all, Atticus is one of the most influential people in Scout and Jem’s life, during the story. Throughout the story, Atticus shows them that being courageous is not always what they think. During the novel, it looks like Atticus always tries to be courageous and set an example for Scout and Jem. An example of when Atticus tries to teach them about real courage is when he says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin