One lesson in the book that I feel Jem learns as a part of growing up is moral courage. Atticus once told Jem that “courage is [not] 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.” Jem had always seen bravery as important and often tried to show the courage in him but only learnt about what moral courage really was through a series events that took place in the book.
The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one, or strength in the face of pain or grief. People all over the world perform countless acts of courage every single day. Many characters in Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird portray these courageous traits also. Many of them performed acts that took great courage to do. Atticus’s definition of courage is going through with something you believe in even when you know it might go wrong. In the book, there are many courageous acts that happen but Atticus Finch shows the most courage all around.
Heroes are not invincible, and certainly are not the ones who always win; however, a hero is someone who, despite this, is courageous enough to fight for what is right. Atticus Finch, one of the most inspiring literary characters from the highly acclaimed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is an example of such. This classic novel is told from the perspective of Scout Finch, Atticus’ daughter, a young girl who lives in the town of Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, a town where prejudice and discrimination is rife. Rather than succumbing to societal expectations and adopting the extreme animosity held by the other citizens, Atticus views and treats all with the dignity and respect that they are entitled to, guiding his
Atticus showed his children that he was a brave man when he stepped into the street to face down a dangerous dog. Although he didn't believe that act was especially brave and he was completely not interested in proving anything to his children but Jem and Scout were proud of, and impressed by, his courage in such a dangerously unsteady situation. But shooting something wasn't really Atticus' idea of courage. He looked courage on a more thinking-related level, as a moral thing, not as something that can be proved with a weapon. During 1930s, white people were considered superior than black people and there was racism. Atticus being a white men also showed courage by going against the Maycomb people and willingly defended Tom Robinson, a black men. Due to that he was often called N-lover by other white people. Despite of those criticisms given by many of the town’s people, he did his best to defend Tom. He said, "If I didn't I couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this country in legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something".(page 75). On page 149, Atticus says : “Son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her. 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
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout that courage is “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Atticus has shown a lot of courage to his kids. Atticus showed courage by accepting the Tom Robinson case, by standing his ground at the jailhouse, and by standing up to Aunt Alexandra about Calpurnia. He even tries to get his kids to follow in his footsteps.
Courage is strength in the face of physical pain, hardship or death. It is also the choice and willingness to confront shame and personal loss. In Harper Lee's novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird', people demonstrate courage by standing up against prejudice, and overcoming their own loneliness and fears to live a good life. Mrs Dubose faces up to her morphine addiction. Atticus faces down the racism of the town. Jem shows his courage in trying to protect his sister. Harper Lee believes that courage requires perseverance and fearlessness in risking a life to save another.
Atticus’ courage is shown in multiple ways through his court actions and his stand against racial discrimination. For instance, as a lawyer, Atticus defends the innocent, despite controversial thoughts of others, this is proven true in the Tom Robinson court case. During this discriminative period, most African Americans brought to court for an accused crime were deemed guilty, despite the clear evidence that proved their innocence. When Jem thought Atticus’ defense of Tom will bring Tom to justice, Reverend Sykes said: “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man”(Lee 279). This proves Atticus’ courage because he chose to fight for a colored man to prove that he is not guilty of an alleged crime, despite knowing the usual outcome of the case and the disapproval he will receive from others.
"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.
To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a tale of two children, Jem and Scout. This powerfully inspiring and educational story entails daily life of the children, as well as the struggles they faced while their father is defending a black man’s case during a racially segregated time period. As an author, Harper Lee developed multiple themes throughout this story. These themes include good, evil, justice, fear, family, forgiveness, and compassion. Atticus illustrates the characteristics of bravery in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird by choosing to defend a black man in court, and shooting a rabid dog in Maycomb.
For example, in chapter 18, Judge Taylor said, “Mr. Finch is courteous to everyone.” (pg. 182). When Judge Taylor uses the word ‘courteous’ to describe Atticus, he is acknowledging the fact that Atticus is a respectful and kind to Mayella even if it was unnecessary. With that amount of respect and integrity, standing up for Tom Robinson makes sense. In chapter 10, Atticus told Jem and Scout, “Shoot all the bluejays you want if you hit’em, but remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (pg.90). Atticus believes that killing a mockingbird or an innocent man for no reason is disobeying the Golden Rule. Therefore, when Atticus stood up Tom Robinson during the trial, he was treating Tom with the same respect as he has treated Mayella with. For instance, in chapter 11 Atticus explained to his children, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, not a man with a gun… it’s when you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway.” (pg. 112). Atticus believes that real courage is trying again after you lost, not winning by the simple way or a gunshot. Atticus probably knew that the jury will say that Tom is guilty. Yet Atticus has integrity and tries his best for Tom despite the
Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee portrays the character Atticus Finch is portrayed as a courageous father and human being. He does this by giving examples of when Atticus is courageous. Here are a few examples and scenarios where Lee portrays Atticus as courageous.
Harper Lee wants to tell us that it takes courage NOT to kill a mockingbird
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.
"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.
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. My main points are going to be that Atticus, his kids, Mrs. Dubose, and Mr. Raymond all show courage but in very different ways as the the book unfolds.