Examples Of Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

What is the most courageous thing you've done? Maybe it was standing up to a bully or saving someone from a dangerous situation where you could have been hurt. For most people, these are the limits to their courage. But for some, their courage may go farther. In most media, the main character's courage is what gets them to be a hero. They might stand up to a supernatural entity or save the world from an evil villain. In the historical fiction novelTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters show courage. The story is set during the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama, where we follow a young girl named Scout as she grows up with her lawyer father Atticus and her older brother Jem. One summer, her father is chosen to defend a black man named

Atticus was chosen to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella Ewell. During the 1930s, when this book was set, the attitude towards black people was very racist due to laws and culture called Jim Crow. Atticus knew that because of the racial injustice, he had no chance of winning the trial. We know this because of some of the things said by other people. We hear some men say “you know the court appointed him to defend this n####r.” “Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it.”(186) This quote shows how unpopular the decision to defend Tom Robinson is. We have also learned how unwinnable this case is. One quote from Atticus when he is responding to Scout is, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”(87) The quote shows that Atticus has basically already accepted defeat but is still defending Tom against the injustice in his town. Because of these quotes, I believe that Atticus had to have a lot of courage to defend Tom

Dubose and her death. Just before the trial, Jem and Scout walk by the house of an old woman named Mrs. Dubose. She is very sick and shouts obscenities at the two children about their father defending Tom Robinson. One example is when she says, “Yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!” She puts her hand to her mouth. When she draws it away, it trails a long silver thread of saliva. “Your father’s no better than the n#####s and trash he works for!”(117) This causes Jem to lose his temper and destroy her garden plants. As a punishment, Jem has to read to her every day for a month. After the end of Jem's punishment, Mrs. Dubose would later die, and the children would learn that she was a morphine addict who had just quit her addiction. Jem’s reading would distract her from the pain of her illness. Atticus 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 see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.”(128) Atticus’ quote goes to show how even though she was a horrible person, she should still be admired for her bravery and courage in the face of