To Kill A Mockingbird True Courage

The former commander-in-chief, Norman Schwarzkopf, once said that “True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that's what courage is”. By saying this, Schwarzkopf meant that even if one knows they will lose or does not want to participate at the task, doing the task regardless of the risk is the definition of real bravery. Even if one does not want to accomplish the task, doing it in a difficult time is viewed as true valor. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic piece of American literature, this type of courage can also be found. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, the Finch’s neighbor who is ostensibly nasty and weak, shows true fearlessness in overcoming her addiction to morphine. Although she did not need to beat her

Johnson’s stories, quiet gallantry is manifested in a similar way. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was being read to by Jem Finch as his sister, Scout stayed with them. After a short amount of time, Mrs. Dubose began to have fits from what the reader soon learns are withdrawals from her addiction to morphine. Each day, these withdrawals become shorter, and with about a week of reading left, she beats her addiction and fought through the pain. She did not have to overcome her morphine addiction because she was going to die anyway, but according to the text, “‘She said that she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody,” (Lee 148). Mrs. Dubose did not have to overcome her addiction, for she was fighting in a losing battle against cancer. It was a silent courage because it did not result in notice or applause and was for herself. Correspondingly, in “The Day the Sun Came Out”, the children had not had anything to eat for days, and were starving. Mary found a large mushroom in the forest and tried it to make sure it was not poisoned. Although Mary jeopardized her safety for the children, they assumed she was being greedy by not letting them eat. They also thought she was selfish, for she prepared and ate her own piece while not permitting the children to even touch it. Little did they know, Mary was endangering her life to keep the kids’ out of peril. Nonetheless, she received the opposite of applause when the three expressed their hatred due to not understanding. The narrator even says that “If I’d had Pa’s rifle, I’d have been willing to kill her right then and there” (Johnson 103). Mary’s courageous act was not only unseen, but was shunned upon by the children. The kids were blind to the fact that their caretaker had nearly sacrificed her life for them. In sum, Mary and Mrs. Dubose’s acts are both of hushed