Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Maya Angelou described courage as, “Courage is the the most important of all virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently,” In the award winning novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee a small southern town undergoes a heated, biased court case in which the motherless Finch family is pushed to their limits. Atticus, Jem, and Scout are all forced to show immense courage as hatred infiltrates their town. It is apparent that Atticus Finch is the most courageous when he defends Tom Robinson with his all and defines what both physical and mental courage are through his daring acts, despite many people believing that Jem’s demonstration of bravery at the end wins him the title of most courageous.

Firstly,

Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson but he doesn’t just do it in court he also acts as a vigil. Scout describes the scene as, “In the light from its bare bulb, Atticus was sitting propped against the front door,” (Lee 207). At the most ungodly hours of the night Atticus stood watch over Tom Robinson at the jail, waiting for a mob of drunk men who were going to cause the accused man harm. Atticus knew that there was going to be trouble for Tom Robinson that night but he didn’t just ignore it, he faced it head on, for himself. A rabid dog was found wandering down the residential street where the Finches live. Atticus was tasked with shooting the dog, named Tim Johnson, as the street’s residents watched from the protection of their houses. Scout illustrates, “In a fog, Jem and I watched our father take the gun and walk out into the middle of the street,” (Lee 127). Walking into the line of sight of a rabid dog would be nauseating for almost anybody but Atticus Finch knew what he needed to do. He stopped Tim Johnson from causing mayhem to the community and his family even though it meant risking his life. Facing a rabid dog and standing guard over Tom Robinson are just two of the ways Atticus Finch demonstrates his bravery

Atticus keeps living his resilient, role model self under tremendous stress where most people would cripple under the pressure. On the contrary, many would argue that Jem Finch is the most courageous character because of his mental strength when protecting Scout on their voyage home from the Halloween play. Jem and Scout were being followed by an unknown individual. The young children could see nothing in the moonless night. Lee explains Jem’s demonstration of courage as, “Jem was talking in an unhurried, flat toneless voice,” (Lee 350). It must have taken a lot of pure bravery for Jem to not succumb to fear while they were being stalked that eerie Halloween night. However his one act of defiance does nothing to compare to Atticus’s never-failing example. Atticus leads mentally with his famed quotes. He states, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” (Lee 39). Atticus lives his words as well. He never judges anyone until he can understand them. He shows this by defending Tom Robinson. He got to know Tom and understood who he was as a person unlike the town where they just hate people based on what they look like. Jem was very courageous in one singular circumstance but Atticus shows how to love everyone and is a good example, for the entirety of the novel, even when it's the