Having courage is not an easy task. It is fighting for what is right no matter the outcome. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about racism in a small town called Maycomb. It is told from a child's point of view and shares her innocent thoughts on the situation. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee characterizes Atticus Finch as a man of much courage and tolerance.
Harper Lee shows that Atticus is courageous because he is specially chosen to defend a black man in court when he already knows the end result. In chapter nine, Atticus tells his daughter, Scout, that he is going to defend a black man accused of raping a white girl. “Atticus, are we going to win it?-- No, honey.--Then why--Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we
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To repay her, Atticus makes Jem and Scout go read to her every day for a month. After the month is over, Mrs. Dubose dies. Atticus tells the children that she had a morphine addiction and wanted to quit before she died. “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 being but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” (Lee 128). He tells the kids that real courage in his perspective. Earlier in the book, Atticus tells Scout why he took this case. He tells her he couldn't face the town if he didn’t defend Tom. He is not going to be racist like the rest of the town. “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.” (Lee 86). He doesn’t to be like the rest of the town, and he doesn’t want his kids to be that way either. He tries to tell them this now so they don't grow up like the rest of the town. He wants to rub some of his courage off onto
When a person is courageous, they are doing something without fear and without wanting anything from it. In Harper Lee´s To Kill a Mockingbird the characters in the novel show courage. The book is based in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama, where racism towards blacks is all too common. The Finch family that consists of Atticus Finch, the father of two children named Jem Finch and Scott Finch are experiencing second-hand racism from the people around them like Tom Robinson. Atticus is Scott´s role model.
The rare quality of courage is highly praised in society today. For some, courage entails daring feats of bravery; for others, it simply means doing the right thing, whatever the outcome. In her novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee switches many of the traditional stereotypes. Children and old folks display outstanding valor, while grown, able-bodied men exude extreme cowardice.
Tom Robinson was being charged with rape and everyone in the town was against him. Atticus saw the injustice and did his best to defend Tom. “... if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature” (Lee 75). Atticus is explaining to Scout why he couldn’t leave Tom without any help. Atticus is always looking out for his children.
Dubose shows courage by fighting her morphine addiction before her death. She knew that she did not have much longer to live and had beheld nothing but she still wanted to win one last battle. Mrs. Dubose had fits of rage about Atticus defending a black man, this causes Jem to rage and destroy her property. Atticus eventually found out and punished Jem and Scout by reading to her after school every day.
Tagging along in her journey is her elder brother, Jem as well as their friend Dill. Scout also has to witness a trial that would make or break her father, Atticus when he must defend an innocent black man in a case of rape. It makes perfect sense for Atticus to take a stand for Tom Robinson and his human rights. Firstly, Tom is innocent of his accused
Atticus truly portrays his figure as a hero, because he knew he didn’t have to come down to look out of Tom. He risked his life in order to protect him, making sure that he doesn’t get jumped by the white men who are after him. Yet another act of courage that Atticus displays is in chapter 23, page 220. He says. “So far nothing in your life has interfered with your reasoning process.
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare,” said Mark Twain. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story about two young children, Jem and Scout Finch, growing up in Alabama in the 1930s and learning what real courage is through their father, Atticus, and the people of Maycomb. They learn to see the world from other points of view, which is also how they express empathy towards others, persevering and standing up for what you believe in, and putting yourself in danger to help others. One message that Harper Lee provides us with is that courage is when you persevere to do something even when it gets more difficult.
and Atticus are examples of courage in To Kill a Mockingbird, demonstrated by their benevolent acts of kindness and equality, and how they didn’t let what the status quo at the time dictate their opinions. In the beginning, Walter Cunningham did conform to racist beliefs of the town and ignored the evidence that proved Tom's innocence, but he realizes he is wrong, and preaches that Tom be acquitted while he sits on the jury. Atticus is one of the people to sway Walter Cunningham to believe in equality. Atticus convinces him, and other people, to believe in the evidence that all proved Tom's innocence, and through him and Walter a small racist town begins to change little by little. The movement of equality has been going on since before the civil war in the 1860s, today, people would like to say we are equal, but with court cases like Trayvon Martin attracting so much controversy, it shows that society still has a long way to
A couple of relatives were visiting and talking to Scout when one said, “‘[Francis:] Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out to be a n-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He’s ruinin’ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.’” (110). It is clear that Atticus being the defendant of an African-American man during a racial time in the world had discontented everyone in the town, his own family other than Scout and Jem clearly expresses their dislike. Atticus knows that taking this case would mean losing, yet because he believes in the equality of the people, he still decided to take on the case.
Atticus knows that “there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that [he] shouldn’t do much about defending [Tom Robinson]” (100). However, even though his family and friends my disagree, may even think less of him, Atticus’ interaction with this case gives his cause to think greater of himself because he is fighting for what he believes in. This kind of situation is difficult when you’re opposing you’re enemies, but even harder when you are up against your friends. Even so, Atticus on the path he knows is right, risking his popularity and status among the town. Atticus tells Scout, “you just hold your head high and keep your fists down.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Courage "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. "The only thing we 've got is a black man 's word against the Ewells '.
To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis Throughout To Kill A MockingBird, by Harper Lee there are many acts of courage. This is shown in Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Boo Radley. Atticus shows the most courage in the book but all three of these characters show true courage in some way, shape, or form. Boo Radley showed a lot of courage, but he was not in the storyline as much as Atticus. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, courage is defined as standing up for people and doing what’s right.
Harper Lee wants to tell us that it takes courage NOT to kill a mockingbird Courage and the symbol of the mockingbird are two of the most important, or in fact in my opinion the most important themes, which are addressed and displayed in the highly praised, but also controversial novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee. I will try to interpret these two motives and show how they are strongly connected to each other. There are many different types of courage and many people who all show it in their own personal way. If people talk about bravery and courage, they mostly think of the physical kind of courage. But there are also other kinds, which are often forgotten or cast aside by their big brother: moral and emotional courage.
Do you see people having courage in their society? Harper Lee puts courage as a central idea of To Kill a Mockingbird just as courage is a central idea in The Giver and if you have read the book then you would know that Jonas uses his courage to change society. It is almost the same thing in To Kill a Mockingbird except Atticus is trying to stop racial segregation in the society. If you haven 't read To Kill a Mockingbird then you have to know it is a fictional story about a girl named Scout who grew up in the 1930’s when segregation was all over America. I believe that Harper Lee adds courage as a key component of the overall To Kill a Mockingbird story because courage can change a whole society as she proves in her book.
so this is the reason why Jem reads to her. Mrs. Dubose wanted to die in peace and it was courageous for her to quit the morphine. This shows the children what real courage is. Atticus says to them, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a am with a gun in his hand. Its when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway