Courage in simple words means an act of bravery. Certainly, that is not just it. Courage takes a bigger picture of an act of bravery. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” is how Nelson Mandela once explained it. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout get taught quite a bit about what it means to have courage. They first believe that having courage means that you can shoot a gun but through of the actions of Boo Radley, Mrs.Dubose, and Atticus, they learn that it means so much more. Jem and scout are taught a valuable life lesson about courage through the characters in the story.
Arthur “Boo” Radley is courageous in revealing
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Like Boo Radley, Mrs Dubose 's courage is not plainly seen by Scout and Jem at the beginning, but her couragesness teaches the children something they will never forget. For Scout, Mrs. Dubose is a brash, nasty woman who takes over their afternoons after Jem goes crazy on her camellias. It 's not until after she dies that Scout and Jem get a sense of what 's going on behind the drool and venom. Mrs. Dubose is a morphine addict who had vowed to go clean before she died, and enlisted Jem and Scout (without their knowledge) to keep her off the stuff for longer and longer periods of time. Atticus tells the kids the lesson he hopes they 've learned from her. He said "’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 you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.’"(Lee 149) Atticus uses the example of Mrs. Dubose 's fight against her morphine addiction as a teaching tool to show the children that it is not a man with a gun who is courageous, but a small, old lady who has the strength of character to fight even when she knows her chances of …show more content…
Though both Boo and Mrs.Dubose are both influential to the children, Atticus teaches them the most about courage. It is through defending black man Tom Robinson that he teaches Jem and Scout the importance of standing up for what you believe in. Atticus knew that there was little chance of acquitting Tom but he believed that he could somehow make a difference in the way that black people were prosecuted. He realizes that it would put both his children and himself at risk but Atticus knows that helping Tom is the right thing to do and thus, carries out the job.This is an act so courageous that his brother compares him to Christ by making the comment "let this cup pass from you, eh?" (Chapter 9). The children look up to Atticus and learn from his acts of bravery. His teaching lead to Jem and Scout performing acts of courage themselves and none of it could have been possible if it weren 't for Atticus.
Jem and Scout learned about what it means to have courage from the actions of the others. It shown to them that everyday people can have courage, even people that are not expected to. Whether it be a fragile old woman, the towns cooke, or their father, they come to learn what courage really means. Though they first thought bravery was just being able to shoot a gun, the realize that the only weapon that is important is courage which is armed in
The True Meaning of Courage Hall of Fame basketball coach Tony Dungy once said, "Courage is the ability to do the right thing, all the time, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be.". In other words, to be courageous is to choose your actions based on morality, even if your decision may have negative consequences. The novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee features two characters; Atticus Finch and Boo Radley, who are examples of Dungy's quote. Both characters use courage to do righteous deeds, even though harsh outcomes are bound to happen.
Mrs. Dubose’s unseen patience displays her true intentions to prove that appearances are not always as they seem. “It suddenly came to me that each day we had been staying a little longer at Mrs. Dubose’s, that the alarm clock went off a few minutes later every day, and that she was well into one of her fits by the time it sounded” (Lee 145). After Jem cuts down Mrs. Dubose’s camellia’s for calling Atticus bad names, Mrs. Dubose punishes Jem by having him come and read to her every day for two hours. However, Jem and Scout soon find out that Mrs. Dubose actually extends their time at her house everyday by a couple minutes. While it seems like a harsh punishment, Mrs. Dubose’s true intention of extending the time each day was so that she could fight her addiction a little longer.
Atticus used Mrs. Dubose as an example so Jem could understand what real courage looked like. After Jem realizes his mistake, he began to feel guilty for cutting all the flower heads off. At that point in the novel, the kids realize Mrs. Dubose isn’t just a mean old lady, but that she has more dimensions to her personality. As the evidence shows, Mrs. Dubose is another character in this book that is perceived differently than how she actually
The famous Novel, How To Kill A Mockingbird, defined courage as “[N]ot the absence of fear, but the willingness to proceed in
First, Mrs. Dubose is shown to be very strong and courageous, but only after she is portrayed as hateful. In the book, Atticus says, “[Mrs. Dubose] was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee 149). While Mrs. Dubose is shown constantly berating Scout and Jem with insults, she proves to herself and everyone else, including Atticus, that she is a very brave and courageous person. Mrs. Dubose proves her bravery by overcoming her addiction to morphine in the last days of her life. In other words, Mrs. Dubose proves that she is brave and courageous by following the morals that she lives by, which included not using drugs, until the very last day of her life.
Scout and Jem depend on Atticus for almost everything, but with the court case, Atticus has to depend on them for support and encouragement, even though he was worried for their safety. Scout and Jem not only support Atticus but they try to protect him in many circumstances and feel anxious when watching him in court. When Atticus goeswent to the jail where Tom Robinson was staying the kids followed him from curiosity. After getting to the jail and other cars arriving, Jem and Scout realized that they arewere there because they did not like Tom, and Atticus’ defense of him in court. Scout and Jem are worried that Atticus would be hurt, so they came out to stop the people, “So it took an eight-year-old child to bring ‘em to their senses, didn’t it?”
Many philosophers say; “The most challenging part of growing up is letting go of what is comfortable, and moving on to something unknown.” This quote strongly applies to the maturity process of Jeremy “Jem” Finch, a lead character in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Jem struggles to understand his role in society as the picturesque facade of his sleepy southern town is destroyed, revealing the darkness underneath the surface. In this coming-of-age story amidst of a race war, Jem navigates the hardships of maturity. He is aided by the guidance of his father, who plays an integral role in the conflict of the small town as the court-appointed lawyer of an African-American man falsely accused of assaulting a white
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.
Atticus not only tells Scout and Jem what real courage is, but shows by defending Tom Robinson. Even though Atticus will probably lose the case, he “sees it though” anyway. Atticus attempts to teach his children the proper way to treat people as well. Atticus says, “cheatin’ a
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee vividly illustrates the real meaning of courage, both physical and emotional, through various situations and characters. Jem and Scout mix up courage and strength. They think courage is the ability to use strength to get your way. But c courage in the novel is not about winning or losing. It’s about doing what’s right even when it may be hard and people may not be on your side.
Bravery is the state of showing mental and/or moral strength to face danger, fear or difficulty. A significant theme in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is bravery, and Harper Lee uses many of the characters and circumstances to demonstrate courage. In the first chapter, Dill convinced Jem and Scout to go into the Radley yard, and it took Jem three days to build the courage to go through with it. In chapter one it explains, “It took Jem three days to get up the nerve. I suppose he loved honor more than his head, for Dill wore him down easily: “You’re scared,” Dill said, the first day.
Courage has gone through many changes. It has been altered throughout races, cultures, religions, sex, and time. However, the core values of courage has always remained parallel. It is difficult to explain in words the meaning of courage, like describing a color, but everyone knows what courage is, how it feels, and how to perform it. In Harper Lee’s
“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,149) This quote meanings is, courage is not winning the battle or even participating in it, it means knowing you going to lose the battle, but fighting anyways and dealing with the embarrassment because you know you're in the right,so standing up for the right thing even if society is against it. This teaches to always fight for what you believe is right of fair.
(chapter 28). When Jem and Scout were walking after the pageant, they think they hear someone following them. When Jem realizes that the person behind them is an adult, he is not scared and tries to protect Scout. At first, Jem as a young boy believes that courage is mostly a physical thing such as defending yourself by winning a fight or touching the Radley house on a dare. Later he learns from his father about the mental and physical courage Mrs Dubose displayed to beat her addiction to morphine.
According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I knew’” (Lee, 149). This shows how Mrs. Dubose was valiant and determined to achieve her goal, which was overcoming her addiction to morphine. This shows how Atticus respects her so greatly, regardless of what she has said to him and his children.