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Why Does Atticus Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

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What is courage? A man named Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Maycomb County, Alabama, is appointed to defend an African American man by the name of Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman in the rural south. He willingly takes the offer. Jem Finch defends his sister after a pageant from Bob Ewell. Bob breaks his arm and Scout gets away. Boo Radley protects Jem and Scout in the same situation Jem breaks his arm in by killing Bob Ewell. Through the courage of Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Boo Radley, Harper Lee communicates the importance of friends and family over oneself.
Atticus Finch displays courage by caring more for his family and friends more than himself. In the novel, Atticus is confronted by town farmers who are armed with …show more content…

Jem, Scout and Dill follow him here and are staying back in the bushes watching him when men confront Atticus that are trying to kill Tom. The children then come to Atticus’s rescue and begin …show more content…

He is also courageous for coming out of his house despite being a type of phantom in the novel. While Jem and Scout are being attacked by Bob Ewell the reader can only assume that Boo Radley is somewhere around watching because he stabs and kills Bob. He has a kitchen knife, stabs Bob Ewell, and carries Jem to safety(351-352). After this Boo is not really considered a phantom anymore. Earlier in the novel Boo Radley, otherwise known as Arthur Radley, is called “Boo” because “People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows. When people’s azaleas froze in cold snap, it was because he breathed on them.”(10) He is described as being “a malevolent phantom” because of these actions (10). Both of these actions are considered courageous because he could have been killed by Bob Ewell when he protects Jem and Scout, and he stayed locked up in his house for fifteen years and he might have been afraid to came out because he would have been judged. In conclusion, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays courage by telling the reader to care more for family and friends than oneself. Atticus Finch is courageous for defending Tom Robinson even though he knows he is already beaten. Jem Finch is courageous for defending his sister and helping Mrs. Dubose with her morphine addiction. Arthur “Boo” Radley is courageous for protecting Jem and Scout by putting

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