According to the dictionary, courage is the ability to do something that frightens one or strength in the face of pain or grief. Courage is shown throughout the whole book of To KIll A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird is told from the main character Scout’s perspective about her town and adventures with her brother Jem. Almost all of the characters, including Scout show some type of courage in this novel. According to Atticus, Scout and Jem’s father, courage is ¨ It´s when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.¨ (Lee 149) Characters that live up to Atticus’ definition of courage are Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, and Atticus himself.
First of all, Mrs. Dubose shows courage because she stands up for herself. Mrs. Dubose did not rely on other people, she was her own person, She died standing up for herself, and that was the bravest thing to do in Atticus’ eyes. “You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died
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Even Atticus himself lives up to his own definition of courage. Atticus stands up for an African American man, even though he knows he can’t win. ¨If you shouldn’t t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it?” “For a number of reasons,” said Atticus. “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn´t represent the county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (Lee 100) When Atticus decided to stand up for Tom Robinson, he was willing to give everything up just to help this man. In a situation where someone needs help, the brave thing do do would be to stand up for that person no matter what the consequences. That’s exactly what Atticus did, he was willing to give up a lot just to help someone because he knew that it was the right thing to do and the only way to do it was with
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.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a novel by Harper Lee, that teaches many themes, one of which being very important is courage. Many people think that courage is a man with a gun in his hand, but Lee’s definition is much different. She thinks that courage is when you know that you’re beaten before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. The first quote I have to further explain this is early in the story when Atticus tells Jem and Scout about the court case he is handling. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (Lee 101). Atticus knows he won’t win the court case, but he still tries his best and doesn’t falter whatsoever. Many people scrutinize him for defending a negro, but he ignores them like he should, and shows maturity and courage.
"Courage isn't an absence of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory." ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity.
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
Mrs. Dubose shows courage in the novel through her bravery. Like before, Atticus and Jem are speaking about Mrs. Dubose’s courage. While speaking, Atticus says, “...she died beholding to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew,” (Lee 149). This quote means that Mrs. Dubose needed a lot of courage and bravery to get off of the morphine. This is significant because it shows that she had bravery, and bravery is very closely connected to courage. This connects to the point because she needed courage to start and end the wrath the drugs had on
Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. Nelson Mandela once said, “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.” To accomplish anything, one must overcome his fears. Atticus Finch thinks courage is to know that you are going to lose, but continue follow through the entire way. His mindset is to never give up, even when you know and everyone else knows you are not going to succeed at what you are doing. I agree with Atticus Finch’s definition of courage of that even though all odds are against you, you have to follow through and persevere.
Courage is when you know you’re beaten. The character Atticus, for instance, who was a seasoned lawyer acted courageous defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. Atticus was appointed to defend him. Jem was happy because he thought his father had won the case but Reverend Sykes loathed telling Jem “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(Lee 208). Atticus was sure he wasn’t going to win the case, nevertheless he gave it a try. That didn’t stop Atticus from trying to defend his client Tom Robinson. Another part in the novel when Atticus was courageous was when he shot at the man street dog. Heck Tate the Maycomb Sheriff was not as courageous as Atticus so he handed Atticus the air rifles and with one shot Atticus took down the street dog. Miss Maudie says “I saw that, One Shot Finch” (Lee 97). Atticus was referred to as one-shot finch because of his shooting skills. The other incidence in the novel when Atticus portrays courage was when he was not scared when Bob Ewell threatened him. Bob Ewell was the man who accused Atticus’ defendant Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus thought Bob Ewell threatened him as some sort of revenge, but unfortunately Atticus was wrong because when Bob Ewell said ...
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.
"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.
This novel tends us to picture Atticus as a very courageous man. His definition for this term doesn?t mean bravery or a man with a gun in his hand. He defines courage as ?When you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what?. Atticus?s courage is represented very significantly and differently in this book. He undertook the case of a Negro who was wrongly accused of raping a white girl. He went against the whole racist community of the town. The opposition of the racist people failed to make him step back from the case. He just fought the case courageously. But the white jury couldn?t possibly be expected to take a black person?s work against the whites.
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.
Within the novel "to kill a mocking bird" the character Atticus finch defines courage as, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." Atticus takes the first step by being courageous to take the Tom Robinson case, defying the towns liking of prejudice, even his own sister thinks that he is disgracing the family by taking the case he explains with concern
Harper Lee’s definition of “courage” is shown when in the book it says “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” (Lee 149). Lee wants to show that courage is when you know you shouldn’t do something but you do it anyways. Scout, Atticus, and Mrs. Dubose all share that trait of courage when Scout is told not to fight but still does anyway, when Atticus takes on a case he’s not even sure he would win and when Mrs. Dubose has to fight about her morphine addiction. To start off, in this quote Scout is asking Atticus about the Tom Robinson case; “‘Atticus, are we
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.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout sees her father, Atticus, shoot a mad dog. Although Atticus does not think of it as a very courageous act, Jem and Scout were proud of their father. He was not trying to prove anything, yet they were still impressed. Later on in the story, Jem and Scout encounter the malevolent Mrs. Dubose. When she talks bad about Atticus, Jem decides that the best way to settle things is to destroy Mrs. Dubose's camellias. After Atticus hears about this, he makes Jem read to her every afternoon for a month. Jem and Scout soon find out that Mrs. Dubose was a very sick lady, and took morphine to assuage her pain. It was not until after she died that Atticus explains to Jem and Scout how courageous she was because she knew she was dying but was still determined to die free of her morphine addiction. 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” (149) to show them that courage isn’t always about doing something violent. Mrs. Dubose fought against great odds, even though she knew that it would cause her great suffering and eventually lead to her demise.