Essay On Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

Courage is the mental strength that is needed to overcome a fear or difficulty. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, displays courage in the character Boo Radley. Boo is a recluse that never steps foot outside of the Radley house; the town considers him a malevolent phantom, and there are many rumors about what he spends his life doing. For much of the novel, Jem and Scout are curious to meet this obscure character. Boo gains curiosity as a result of watching Jem and Scout, and eventually, he has to surmount his shyness to help them. Boo Radley displays the most courage throughout the novel for the following reasons: Boo reaches out anonymously to Jem and Scout despite his shyness; He saves Jem and Scout’s lives

His actions influence Jem and Scout’s development as a character. One of the main lessons that Boo teaches Jem and Scout that helps them develop their character is judgements of a person should not be made based on rumors, but should be made on a person’s actions. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout are petrified by the stories that they have heard about Boo. However, they learn that Boo is not the malevolent character that he is made out to be, for Jem and Scout understand that he is the one that puts items in the tree for them, fixes Jem’s pants, and saves their lives. To emphasize this, Mr. Tate tells Atticus that Bob Ewell killed himself, and when Atticus asks Scout if she understands this, she says that ‘“it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird’”(318). In this case, Scout understands that Boo is gentle souled, and a mockingbird symbol; he represents innocence and goodness like a mockingbird does. Boo leads Jem and Scout to realize that one must be judged by actions rather than by