Meaning Of Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

Thomas Reynolds
Mrs. Shozi
English 3
Period 6

To Kill a Mockingbird In the 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, courage plays a major role in the three main characters; Atticus Finch, Jean Louise Finch (Scout), and Jeremy Finch (Jem). Courage is what gets them all through the hardships of living the 1930’s prejudice southern states of the U.S. In this story Atticus is a lawyer who takes on a case and defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of beating a raping a white women. Defending Tom Robinson is an act of bravery for Atticus because when he decided to do it, he already knew that he was going to lose no matter what but because he has a heart, he defends him anyways and he does everything in his power to ensure

But throughout the story, his meaning of courage naturally changes as he goes through life changing experiences and how he ages. His take on courage changes because of events like when Atticus shot and killed the feral dog and when he realizes that Mrs. Dubose has an addiction with morphine and she decides to deal with her own problems head on, even though she knew that doing so would be the death of her. One of Jem’s first act of real courage was when he confronted the mob in of crazy townsfolk that are determined to kill Tom Robinson and Atticus if needed. When Atticus sees him he tells him to leave but Jem refuses and he stays put. Scout describes this event as “In the midst of this strange assembly, Atticus stood trying to make Jem mind him’. “ I ain’t going was Jem’s cold answer.” When Scout sees this she realizes that Jem is committing an act of courage. However Scout is more courageous and she then proceeds to address the crowd. But she doesn’t realize how courageous she acted until she is safely tucked in bed that night. Only then does she realize that she, Jem and Atticus were in a very dangerous position and that the line between Bravery and foolishness is a thin