Examples Of Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

Emma Kluth

Mr. Nikolai Ellison

English 9 Honors

21 April 2023

The Forms Of Courage

To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee provides readers with many life lessons through the life of Scout Finch; one of these numerous lessons is courage. Courage overall is defined as “strength in the face of pain and grief”, although this anonymous strength can be exhibited in different forms. For example, a picture of courage for one person could be standing up for themselves; however, for another person, it could be asking a teacher a question. Nevertheless, for every attribute, characteristic, and feature of a person, there are multiple different ways it can be displayed. Therefore, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird shows that courage takes different

Dubose is an elderly lady who lived on the same street as the Finch family and had a severe morphine addiction. Throughout Mrs. Dubose's battle, she illustrates courage by wanting to find a solution to her dependence on morphine. Atticus states, “According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (Lee 128). Even after her death, Mrs. Dubose was recognized as courageous by Atticus. Also, Atticus tells Jem that she died free “as the mountain air” indicating that she had found her conscience and independence without drugs. Along with wanting to fight her addiction, she unknowingly set an example to the Finch kids of what courage can look like. He explained, “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.” (Lee 128). At first, Jem and Scout did not understand what lesson Atticus was attempting to teach them by reading to Mrs. Dubose. However, when they realized this, they acknowledged what they were doing was not a punishment, but a favor for a feeble

Dubose due to his situation. During the trial, he can show courage by being fearless and telling the jury everything. The author informs us“he had been in trouble with the law before: he once received thirty days for disorderly conduct…What did it consist of? Got in a fight with another man, he tried to cut me.” (Lee 216). Telling the jury he had been in jail before could've immediately been a reason for them to find him guilty. Although, he stayed true to himself and displayed strength in the presence of failure throughout the entire trial. Along with showing courage in telling the truth, he also displays boldness by standing strong in the front of the courtroom despite his race. He knew that “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 244). Tom knew he had no chance of winning over a white woman. Therefore, he understood that the best thing he could do is stay composed and show a silent form of courage. While Mrs. Dubose showed courage through battle, Tom displayed the same element in doing what was best to save his life: