Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

“Real courage” is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus Finch defines “real courage” and demonstrates it in several ways throughout the novel. At first glance, it may seem as though Atticus Finch’s courageous acts are really acts of cowardice, however as one continues to look into his patient and passive aggressive attitude, it becomes clearer that what he is really displaying would be signs of courage. This shows that Atticus’ actions of displaying courage differently than others are not displayed as one would normally expect, and so he demonstrates it in a more affective manner. Many of the characters in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird display various forms of courage, but Atticus Finch is clearly the most courageous due to the fact that he refuses to give up a fight no matter what the losses or circumstances it may bring to himself or to his family, and because of his determination to fight for what he believes in and to “see it through no matter what” (Lee, 149).

In the novel, Atticus tried every way to help others who were in need of help themselves. First of all, it is courageous of Atticus to take the Tom Robinson case. Even Atticus’ own family (such as Aunt Alexandra) disapproved of him taking the case. The reason was because of the bias. Many of his risks were taken during the Tom Robinson case. He risks the chance of criticism by the other residents in Maycomb county.It takes courage for Atticus Finch to do differently than people's beliefs in order to do what he sees as morally correct. The racist views of the town are against Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of doing wrong to a white woman, and Atticus is often discriminated against for not agreei...

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... motivation, however, were his kids. He wanted to be a good example to his kids and instill in them a strong sense of moral values. One time he was asked by Scout why he had taken a case he knew he wasn't going to win and he responded by saying, "For a number of reasons. 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 100) In other words, he wouldn't have the face to preach to his kids about justice and standing up for what one believes when he himself had not stood for what he believed in. But, most of all he does it to uphold his self-worth. He wants to know that there's no reason for him to bend his head and shy away when he's walking down the streets. He wants to live without regrets, and to him that's the best way to live life.