Courage can be revealed in numerous ways, but it isn’t until one stands by their morals that true courage is expressed. Throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird,” many acts of true courage have been conveyed through the characters’ thoughts and actions of sticking by their morals. Harper Lee suggests that standing by one’s own morals is the truest form of courage. Harper Lee’s use of external conflicts expresses Atticus’s true courage when he decides to take Tom Robinson’s case. Atticus knows that defending Tom Robinson will arise conflict and bitterness. He knows that “she [Scout] and Jem will have to absorb some pretty ugly things…” (88). In fact, the trial will cause people to bully Atticus’s kids and call them names. People like Cecil Jacobs …show more content…
Boo is a secluded and shy man who never leaves his house. There are only rumors of Boo creeping out when it’s pitch dark outside. Besides those rumors, he is always kept locked up inside his house with “the shutters and doors closed” (9). It is not until one day, when Jem and Scout are walking along the road coming home from a Halloween event at school that Boo Radley comes out from his house. The children are walking silently home when they suddenly heard the shuffling of someone’s shoes. Not before long, Bob Ewell runs straight towards the children, knife in hand. While the children are being tackled, there is a “crunching” (262) sound of Jem’s arm, and he is left on the cold and damp ground. Scout is so entangled that it is hard for her to see. What she does manage to see is a man carrying Jem home. This man is Boo Radley. When Bob Ewell is fighting the children, Boo has to make a decision on whether or not he wants to reveal himself. In the end, Boo ends up fighting off Bob Ewell and saving the childrens’ lives. Even though Boo is always locked away from the rest of society and doesn’t want to be seen, he gets over his fear and fights for the children’s safety. He truly shows courage because he stands by what is right and leaves his house to save Atticus’s
Courage is the ladder on which other themes in to kill a mockingbird mount on. With courage people tend to take risks, have strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. How many times have you considered yourself as courageous? At the end of the novel, you see reasons why being courageous could help you as a reader live a better and braver life. In Conclusion, courage is the foundation of integrity.
"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.
As Martin Luther King Jr. quotes in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” (qtd.in. Goodreads.com). Atticus’ words of wisdom for the duration of To Kill a Mockingbird are used as a guiding light for not only his children, but the nation as a whole during the Civil Rights Movement. Through the 1950’s and 60’s African-Americans all over the U.S. were fighting to end Jim Crow Laws. Their movement inspired many and was what also influenced by Harper Lee’s to write her first literary work. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses the character Atticus Finch as a moral compass to show that true courage comes from
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus, the father of Jem and Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, always gave his children good advice and encouraging words. Atticus, along with many other characters in the book, was very courageous. There are many courageous events throughout the story that helps keep the reader’s attention. Some of the courageous actions in the book was Scout standing up to Miss Caroline for Walter Cunningham, the towns people helping Ms. Maudie during the fire, the acceptance of Tom Robinson’s case and the heroic actions of Mr. Arthur (Boo) Radley.
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.
How far would you go to do the right thing if it had the potential to hurt you in the long run? In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, that was a question that the characters had to ask themselves when they knew they had to do the right thing but did not know how far they should go. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates moral courage throughout the book by using the literary elements such as conflict and characterization.
it was Boo Radley who emerged from his house at the right time to save
“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 see it through no matter what.” This goes very well with my essay and also this story overall. The author sticks with the theme of courage throughout the entire book, and shows a little bit of it in almost every person in the book. In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee defines courage within Atticus, Jem, and Scout, and believes that courage is more than just being a good person to your peers.
Jem and Scout’s most influential role model and their only father, Atticus, is a great example to prove some of the different forms of bravery that exist in him. He is one of Maycomb’s most noble people, and a lawyer who stood against all opinions and assumptions of Maycomb, and defeated his fears, and stuck by Tom Robinson’s side during the trials, and defended him. “There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.” (p. 273) Atticus takes a risk and tries to appeal to the court’s high sense of morality, and begs the jury to avoid the state’s assumption that all black people are criminals and to deliver justice by freeing Tom Robinson. This proves Atticus’ moral courage in trying to debunk the assumptions in Maycomb about black people,...
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.
The highest level of courage is staying true to yourself. Being honest to yourself and standing up for what you believe in takes great courage. Unfortunately, being courageous comes at a high cost and you may not always be rewarded for it. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters show courage at the topmost level. Their acts may seem foolish and immoral to others, but they do what they believe in. The book shows that true courage is fighting in what you believe no matter what the consequences. We see this type of courage in Jem, Scout, Atticus and even Boo Radley throughout the course of the book.
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 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.
“Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” that what Atticus Finch thinks Courage is. Courage is a major theme in the book by Harper Lee called To Kill a Mockingbird and how it is shown in the characters of this novel. Courage is shown in Jem, Scout, Mrs. Dubose and the main character which showed a lot of courage was Atticus.
Among the many plots within the story, many of them surround Boo Radley or attempting to have Boo Radley come out of his house. In these stories show Jem, Scout, and Dill are terrified of the Radley house and what be inside. However, they are mistaken, for Boo Radley wants to do the exact opposite of scaring the children. For example, Boo tries to show friendship to Scout and Jem by leaving them gifts in the tree outside of his house. These gifts include dolls, gum, a knife, a watch, etc. Boo also is thought to have wrapped Scout in a blanket during the chapter in which Miss Maudie’s house had burned down. Boo Radley is thought to have done it because Atticus says “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.” (Lee 96) supporting the fact that Boo Radley was looking out for Scout. Lastly, Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem when they were attacked by Bob Ewell. This heroic effort was not only full of care, but also, full of