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Analyze the text "To kill a Mockingbird
Character analysis to kill a mockingbird
To kill a mockingbird character analysis
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Courage is a major theme in “To Kill A Mockingbird” that has many asking the question, “What character shows the most courage?” To answer the question, Atticus shows the most courage. He shows courage by taking up a case that causes tragedies and distrust between families. As well as setting examples for his children, by doing the right thing. Despite what many people believe, Atticus shows the most courage because he is always facing challenges and setting examples to do the right thing for his children. Atticus shows courage by setting examples for his children even when his life's in danger. When Atticus was surrounded, Scout kicks a man. In chapter 15 page 204 it states “‘Don’t kick folks. No-’ he said as I was pleading justification.”
Courage is a deed that can be portrayed in many ways. In the Historical Fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many acts of racism and problematic cases where acts of courage are demonstrated in different and unique ways that can only be deciphered if one reads in between the lines of the words. There are three characters in particular who show courage in diverse ways. First, there is Arthur Radley who anonymously shows courage by performing tasks that cause him to face the outside world where he’s been isolated from for so long. Secondly, there is Scout Finch who demonstrates courage through her adolescent age. Lastly, there is Atticus Finch who displays courage through his selfless and kind actions. Therefore, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses diverse characters to represent different acts of courage.
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
In several different instances, the townspeople tried to convince him not to, and in one event they even threatened him. However, Atticus shows courage in defending Robinson.... ... middle of paper ... ... Courage is not taking a challenge knowing you will win, it is facing a challenge one knows one will most likely lose and still trying.
Atticus Finch’s unique, courageous personality and contrarian mindset are proven through his unconventional actions throughout the novel. His stoic nature correlates with his extreme courage, a moral facet of his multi-layered personality that he highlights with various acts of nobility that many in Maycomb do not expect and often despise, but he continues on regardless. Early on, Atticus shows an aspect of his moral courage when he consoles Scout on the topic of getting bullied about his decision to defend Tom Robinson. In this specific instance, Atticus explains to Scout that, “no matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). Letting insults and rude remarks fly over
In conclusion, true courage is the ability to confront something even if one is “licked from the start. Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus Finch all display real courage throughout Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson, being an African-American, living in a prejudiced town and having a crippled arm, still helped Mayella, gave a truthful testimony and tried to escape prison. Mrs. Dubose courageously overcame her morphine addiction despite her age and pains. Atticus’s real courage drove him to put aside the criticism and risk, and take up and fight the Tom Robinson’s controversial case. It is evident that these three characters in To Kill a Mockingbird display acts of real courage even when they know they are fighting a losing battle.
An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.
Courage is not something that we are born with, it is a skill that takes time to learn and only a few are lucky enough to have it. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only about life in a world full of hate, it is about standing up for anyone’s beliefs being brave enough to do it. In this story, Harper Lee says “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing 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 112). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates courage through Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur Radley.
The first important character to display an enormous amount of courage is Mrs. Dubose. She was a morphine addict for many years because it was prescribed to her as a pain killer. Mrs. Dubose could have just kept taking morphine and it would have made her life easier, but she chose otherwise. Instead she wanted to "die beholden to nothing and nobody". She showed determination and displayed lots of courage. Even though she said mean things about Atticus and his family, he paid no attention to that, just the fact that she was the most courageous person he knew. After Mrs. Dubose passed away Atticus explained to the children by saying, '"I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the i...
“Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” that what Atticus Finch thinks Courage is. Courage is a major theme in the book by Harper Lee called To Kill a Mockingbird and how it is shown in the characters of this novel. Courage is shown in Jem, Scout, Mrs. Dubose and the main character which showed a lot of courage was Atticus.
Atticus took many risks knowing that the outcome may not be favorable towards him. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee displays that Bravery and Courage are important life traits, and can help
Courage is the thing which can be found in a child to an old man. It needs a lot of courage to take out courage from the heart. It is like a brain. It depends on the person, how and when he uses it. This tiny word has the power to convey the whole gesture of a person. According to Harper Lee?s genius ?To Kill a Mockingbird?, Courage is when you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through it through no matter what.
The highest level of courage is staying true to yourself. Being honest to yourself and standing up for what you believe in takes great courage. Unfortunately, being courageous comes at a high cost and you may not always be rewarded for it. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters show courage at the topmost level. Their acts may seem foolish and immoral to others, but they do what they believe in. The book shows that true courage is fighting in what you believe no matter what the consequences. We see this type of courage in Jem, Scout, Atticus and even Boo Radley throughout the course of the book.
Scout believes at the beginning of the book that courage is all to do with physical feats like fist fighting. Scout and Jem though Atticus was courageous when he shot the mad dog, but Atticus just shrugged it off telling his children that that is not ? real courage?. The children soon see that moral courage is more valuable after Miss Dubose said "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" Chapter 11, Page 113 after they walked past her house.
Atticus’s courage has been demonstrated repeatedly throughout the course of the novel. When Atticus was given the trial for Tom Robinson, he had the valor to stand up for what he thought was right. He knew from the beginning that he had no chance to win the case, but he still defended Tom anyway. At one point, Atticus was trying to teach Jem that courage is “...when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Lee 149). This is exactly what Atticus has done and will always do. He saw the trial all the way through to the end. Atticus is the perfect example of someone who shows bravery.
Another great example of courage from To Kill a Mockingbird was the court scene. This scene is where all of the plot and characters are pulled together. In this scene, Atticus must risk everything he has built to defend Tom, and he does it alarmingly well. He did something nobody had wanted him to do, actually defended his client. The reason this was so challenging was that it was 1935! Black people did not receive the same level of defense, and Atticus knew this. He knew that this could destroy him, but he didn't think it could hurt his family.