Dictionary- reference defines courage as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery” In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee expresses courage in many ways through the novel. In the novel, nearly every character display courage in their life. Courage is the inner desire to succeed and to do what is right, no matter what consequences of your decision. Throughout the novel, Atticus define courage as "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.” One of the central topics of the novel is that a man of courage is a man who doesn’t run away but fight against his enemy even though they know they going to lose. Atticus Finch is probably one of the bravest people in the novel. Throughout the book, despite being called "nigger-lover" by many people in Maycomb, he had lots of courage in him to take the case and defend Tom Robinson even with all threats of violence. He also is brave in the face of danger, when facing the mob of men outside the jail-house even though he know he could get hurt or kill. “In the 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,” another man said. “Get aside from the door, Mr.Finch” ”.(pg.202) HE use himself as a human shield to protect Tom Robinson from the Cunningham. He knows that nobody in Maycoms is going to trust a Black ‘s man word against a White ‘man word and that he is probably going to lose the trial but he try his best to... ... middle of paper ... ...death, but to leave this world free of addiction. Atticus uses Mrs. Dubose as an example of true courage to show Jem that courage isn't a man with a gun, but someone who fights for what's right whether he or she wins or not. In conclusion, courage isn’t fighting or killing or doing something that is scary or dangerous. It is a person who stand to fight even though she/he will know that they will lose. All these characters display different forms of courage in the novel. Atticus risks his every day in his life of a Black man and he knows that he is going to lose. Jem and Scout try to protect his father from the mob outside the Jailhouse and they refuse to leave their father alone.Mrs. Dubose tries to die free from her morphine addiction even though she knows that she will die in the process. They all stood what they believe and they refuse to give up or surrender.
Courage is the thing which can be found in a child to an old man. It needs a lot of courage to take out courage from the heart. It is like a brain. It depends on the person, how and when he uses it. This tiny word has the power to convey the whole gesture of a person. According to Harper Lee?s genius ?To Kill a Mockingbird?, Courage is when you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through it through no matter what.
Courage means overcoming obstacles to do what is right. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea of true courage plays an important role in the trial of Tom Robinson. Even though Atticus and his family receive ridicule and discredit from their peers and own family members, Atticus stills defends Tom. He explains his reasoning when Scout questions him. “I’m simply defending a Negro… For a number of reasons… The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town…” (Lee 75). Atticus conveys that even though he would not be ridiculed for not de...
Courage means overcoming obstacles to do what is right, Atticus is a generous person that is a great role-model, and knows courage. Atticus demonstrates courage about everyday in his life. Once, when Atticus was talking to Jem and Scout after he told the children Mrs. Dubose died. He said real courage “'Its when you know you're licked before you begin buy you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what,”'(Lee112). In this quote Atticus demonstrates a great example of courage to Scout and Jem. When he is talking about Mrs. Dubose. In the process he reminds himself why he took the Tom Robinson case that, he knew he had no chance in winning. He knew if he took the case he wouldn't be as close with his friends and neighbors until the trail was over. In the end Atticus stood up for what he felt was right against the while people, and that is real courage! Another character that shows courage by overcoming and obstacle to do what is right is Mrs. Dubose. She has been sick for so long that she wanted the pain to go away, and once she got the pain to disappear she overused the medicine. When Atticus explains this to the children he says “'She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. Jem, when you're sick as sh...
Atticus Finch showed courage by defending Tom Robinson, a black man, through his trial. Atticus already knew that his reputation would be ruined by defending a black man, but he also knew it was the right thing to do. All these years he told his children to do the right thing and now if he doesn't do the right thing of defending Tom, he wouldn’t be practicing what he preached.
Atticus displays courage by accepting the case of Tom Robinson stating, “I’m simply defending a Negro-his name’s Tom Robinson” (100). He does so knowing he would upset the town and put him and his family in danger. However, the reader knows he is more than capable of facing down fear to protect his family as seen when he shoots the rabid dog. “The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown-and-white heap. He didn’t know what hit him” (127). This scene proves that Atticus Finch will consume his fear and have courage to protect the ones he
Harper Lee’s definition of “courage” is still fighting for something when you know that you will most likely fail. As Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird “It’s when you know you’re likcked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Lee 149). There are a few characters that stand out show courage in To Kill a Mockingbird and those characters are Scout, Atticus, and Mrs. Dubose. My first example of a character supporting Harper Lee’s definition of courage is, “‘Simply because we were licked a hundred years before is no reason for us not to try to win,’ Atticus said” (Lee 101). Cecil Jacobs said that Atticus defended niggers at school. Scout said that he wasn’t but asked Atticus about it when she went
Courage is not something that we are born with, it is a skill that takes time to learn and only a few are lucky enough to have it. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only about life in a world full of hate, it is about standing up for anyone’s beliefs being brave enough to do it. In this story, Harper Lee says “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing 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” (Lee 112). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates courage through Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur Radley.
Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird we learn about moral courage through a few characters, but Atticus and Ms. Dubose are characters who really make Jem and Scout discover that courage looks different than they expect it to. Atticus shows moral courage by defending and guarding Tom Robinson, and Ms. Dubose shows moral courage by getting off morphine. Courage comes in many forms, but moral courage is the most important form.
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
This whole story had tons of examples of Atticus having courage. There are some that stand out more than the others. The first one connects to what was just talked about, with Jem standing up. It takes place at Tom’s cell late at night. The text says, “‘He in they're, Mr. Finch?’ a man said. ‘He is,’ we heard Atticus answer, ‘and he’s asleep. Don’t wake him up.’...‘You know what we want,’ another man said. ‘Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.’‘You can turn around and go home again, Walter,’ Atticus said pleasantly. ‘Heck Tate’s around somewhere.’”(202) This quote shows that late at night Atticus stayed in front of Tom’s cell to protect him so he wouldn’t be killed from the mob! They could have killed him, and I think that he was well aware of that. However, he still protected and told the men to go away. The second way that Atticus shows true courage was him defending Tom Robinson in his case. Atticus didn’t have to defend Tom in this case. He could have just let them say that Tom is guilty and they would kill him. However, Atticus saw that no matter what skin color, Tom is a person and he was blamed for something he knows he didn’t do. He decided to have true courage and defend the innocent Tom Robinson from Bob and Mayella Ewell. He tried his best and worked hard to prove that Tom did not rape Mayella, that Mayella lied and that she even broke a social code in Maycomb (kissing/liking a black man when she is a white women). What motivates Atticus is because he just knows what right and wrong. Being racist is wrong, blaming someone for something they didn’t do is wrong, and watching it happen in front of your eyes and not doing anything, is wrong as well. That’s why Atticus is helping Tom because he knows that he did nothing wrong, and that the Ewells are just using him because he is black and the Ewells and white so they think they can get anyway with whatever with
First, “Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson” (Lee 194). Atticus shows courage in this example because he knows that Tom Robinson is innocent but everybody else thinks that Tom is guilty because Tom is Black and the white community is being racist towards that. Second, in Maycomb, there was a rabid dog that was on the loose with a disease that nobody wanted to stop, so Atticus got his gun and killed the dog. This specific example show Atticus demonstrating courage because the dog had Maycomb’s “Usual Disease” which is racism, and everybody in the town is racist, so killing the dog is like ending the racism in the town. Finally, throughout the novel, Atticus stands up for what he believes even though everybody in the town of Maycomb is against what he believes. What Atticus did is the true meaning of courage. Standing up for your beliefs even though they are not popular. In conclusion, Atticus Finch is faced with racism and criticism every day of his life and standing up for himself shows that he has a tremendous amount of
Furthermore, Atticus showed true bravery when he went against Maycomb, a generally prejudice town, in order to defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object of scorn and ridicule. That no one would forgive him for believing in a black man's word rather than a white man's. Even his own sister expresses disapproval of his decision, practically telling him he was bringing disgrace on the family. But, no matter how much his reputation suffered, he did not change his mind. Standing up for his convictions was more important then what people thought about him..
“You will never be anything without courage” - Aristotle. Atticus Finch might have agreed with this definition, but his definition is slightly different: “It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” (Lee 149) In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird the author Harper Lee uses many characters to represent Atticus’ definition of courage. The town of Maycomb is said to be diseased with prejudice which makes their acts even more courageous. Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all characters that show great courage in the novel.
Atticus was incredibly courageous taking on tom Robinsons case against the prejudice of Macomb County and he shows incredible courage when he says, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and won." He wants the people of Maycomb to hear the truth about Tom Robinson, "That boy may go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told." Chapter 15, Page 146. He was against the whole white community including his own sister practically said that he was a disgrace to his family Atticus tells scout when she asks him why he is taking the case he says "For a number of reasons. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.
Atticus also shows courage. He is the best shot in Maycomb. That is why he is the one to shoot the mad dog. He shows courage by defending Tom because no one thinks it is right to defend a black man. He did what he thought was right .