To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee brings readers on an adventure to discover realistic views on society and the communication between people. Characters are portrayed in different ways as they go through changes and are faced with challenging situations. Several acts of mental courage are explored in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as Atticus’s attitude and actions, Mrs. Dubose’s beliefs, and Jem’s understanding of courage. Each character’s courage gives them strength and a developing understanding of themselves as the novel progresses.
Atticus Finch is a good example of a character with strong mental courage. He is someone who always follows his own beliefs and thoughts. His actions always reflect his own choices, not society’s view on a situation. He trusts his own decision and he believes in doing what is right, particularly when he is against all the negative pressures of society, which demonstrates he is righteous and courageous. An example of this is the trial with Tom Robinson. Atticus risks his reputation and social standing to defend Tom because he truly believes that Tom is not guilty. Although he is under the pressure of many citizens in Maycomb who believe that Tom is guilty, he ignores all of it, defending Tom without a care about others’ judgment. Atticus knows that because of the discrimination and racism in the society of Maycomb that he does not have a chance in the trial, but he vows to see it through because he promises to help Tom. It is his choice because he believes in it. "[Courage is] 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."(Lee, 112). This quote reflects on Atticus’s thoughts and views about defendi...
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...a lot on mental courage from Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and the trial with Tom.
In conclusion, Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Jem are three of the main characters who show definite examples of courage. Atticus teaches the readers to do what we think is right, and to keep going even if it seems impossible. Mrs. Dubose teaches the readers that courage is not a man with a gun in his hand, but that courage takes determination, perseverance, and always continuing on, fighting against the odds. Lastly, Jem teaches the readers that as you grow, your perspective of courage changes and you should always follow your own beliefs on what is right or wrong. Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird is evidently important, as learning from these characters can be beneficial to the reader later on.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.
Courage is a deed that can be portrayed in many ways. In the Historical Fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many acts of racism and problematic cases where acts of courage are demonstrated in different and unique ways that can only be deciphered if one reads in between the lines of the words. There are three characters in particular who show courage in diverse ways. First, there is Arthur Radley who anonymously shows courage by performing tasks that cause him to face the outside world where he’s been isolated from for so long. Secondly, there is Scout Finch who demonstrates courage through her adolescent age. Lastly, there is Atticus Finch who displays courage through his selfless and kind actions. Therefore, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses diverse characters to represent different acts of courage.
Jem and Scout encounter courage many times on their journey to adulthood. Courage is often defined as a quality that people have that allows them to face danger with bravery. Jem understands courage a little earlier than Scout. In chapter 11, Mrs. Dubose says some hateful words about Atticus, which leads Jem to smashing her flowers. As a punishment Jem had to read to her every day after school for two hours. A conversation between Atticus and Jem shows how he felt about...
In conclusion, true courage is the ability to confront something even if one is “licked from the start. Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus Finch all display real courage throughout Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson, being an African-American, living in a prejudiced town and having a crippled arm, still helped Mayella, gave a truthful testimony and tried to escape prison. Mrs. Dubose courageously overcame her morphine addiction despite her age and pains. Atticus’s real courage drove him to put aside the criticism and risk, and take up and fight the Tom Robinson’s controversial case. It is evident that these three characters in To Kill a Mockingbird display acts of real courage even when they know they are fighting a losing battle.
"Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity.
Courage is when you know you’re beaten. The character Atticus, for instance, who was a seasoned lawyer acted courageous defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. Atticus was appointed to defend him. Jem was happy because he thought his father had won the case but Reverend Sykes loathed telling Jem “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(Lee 208). Atticus was sure he wasn’t going to win the case, nevertheless he gave it a try. That didn’t stop Atticus from trying to defend his client Tom Robinson. Another part in the novel when Atticus was courageous was when he shot at the man street dog. Heck Tate the Maycomb Sheriff was not as courageous as Atticus so he handed Atticus the air rifles and with one shot Atticus took down the street dog. Miss Maudie says “I saw that, One Shot Finch” (Lee 97). Atticus was referred to as one-shot finch because of his shooting skills. The other incidence in the novel when Atticus portrays courage was when he was not scared when Bob Ewell threatened him. Bob Ewell was the man who accused Atticus’ defendant Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus thought Bob Ewell threatened him as some sort of revenge, but unfortunately Atticus was wrong because when Bob Ewell said ...
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.
Courage is having the strength to do something that is frightening to most people. It can be something large scale like the responders on 9/11 risking their lives for hundreds of people. Courage can also be something of smaller scale but just as significant like standing up for a black man in a town of racial prejudice. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters she has initiated show courageous qualities. One of those characters is Atticus Finch, father of Jem and Scout who demonstrates courage many times throughout the novel. Standing up for his beliefs, restraining from the negligent tauntings of his neighbors and defending a man whose innocence will not be proved, all show Atticus is the most courageous character
... of bravery and courage in the eyes of Atticus, and both Jem and Mrs. Dubose applied to his meaning. Mrs. Dubose strongly played the role of the courageous woman that fights for her dignity ignoring what other people do, and represented the person who fights alone without asking for help. Jem went through the process of growing that led him to be a responsible man who stands for his word no matter what, despite the fear that he might face by doing that or despite the bad results that could occur to him. By understanding what courage and bravery truly are, positive results could occur in society as a result of that. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Mrs. Dubose was a great example of fighting addiction, and Jem was a great example of the true form of maturity, and if these examples were used well they could be set as a solution to most of the problems in the world.
This novel tends us to picture Atticus as a very courageous man. His definition for this term doesn?t mean bravery or a man with a gun in his hand. He defines courage as ?When you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what?. Atticus?s courage is represented very significantly and differently in this book. He undertook the case of a Negro who was wrongly accused of raping a white girl. He went against the whole racist community of the town. The opposition of the racist people failed to make him step back from the case. He just fought the case courageously. But the white jury couldn?t possibly be expected to take a black person?s work against the whites.
Firstly, Atticus demonstrated mental courage when he undertook the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongly accused of rape, in court. He had to persevere through many hardships in order to make a statement in the community. Atticus knew he would not win the case against the all white jury and like Mrs. Dubose in her struggle against morphine, Atticus lost before he even began. Nevertheless, Atticus knew that Tom was innocent and was willing to stand up for him because nobody else would. Since Atticus stayed true to himself and did only what is morally correct, he fought this case with great determination. He wanted the people of Maycomb to know the truth about what happened to Mayella Ewell, but even the truth would not free Tom Robinson. "That boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told." (Lee, 146) Atticus showed true courage in going against Maycomb, a mostly prejudice town. He was given names like “nigger lover” and was looked down upon heavily but that did not stop him. On the other hand, Mayella Ewell decided to lie about the case because othe...
Courage is a praised characteristic in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Many characters embody the true meaning of courage, although different aspects of courage are illustrated throughout the course of the novel. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, an elderly ill-tempered woman, shows admirable determination by kicking her morphine addiction on her deathbed. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a Southern town plagued by racism, defends a colored man in the South without submitting to social pressures. A reclusive, yet benevolent Boo Radley confronts his fear of the outside world and leaves his home in order to save the lives of two children from a murderous drunk. Scout and Jem’s interpretation of courage continues to change through the course of their experiences, and they begin to understand the perspectives of those who demonstrate courage. By adhering to strong moral convictions, and demonstrating incredible willpower and determination, each of these characters proves to be courageous in his or her own right.
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.
Within the novel "to kill a mocking bird" the character Atticus finch defines courage as, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." Atticus takes the first step by being courageous to take the Tom Robinson case, defying the towns liking of prejudice, even his own sister thinks that he is disgracing the family by taking the case he explains with concern
A girl was being bullied, and had sat on the curb and sobbed into her knees. Suddenly, a boy sees this young girl in agony, and finds the courage to comfort her despite of what his peers might say about the situation. Through his words were few, to her it meant many. Moral courage is the ability to stand up for what one believes in. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee takes place in a small town in Maycomb County of Alabama. In such an area during the 1930s, the people living there were prejudice, sexist, and had set male and female roles. In addition to this, not only was society at a low but this area suffered from an economic low known as the Great Depression. However, despite all this, Harper Lee effectively uses “To Kill a Mockingbird”
"Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel.