How Does Mrs Maudie Show Courage

Courage; To Believe When Society Disagrees Most people have the ability to stand up for what they believe in. This is courage, the act of “mental or moral strength to venture, preserve, and withstand danger, fear of difficulty.” Especially for people who hold a strong belief, they have the courage to carry out their decisions. To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, demonstrates how through courage people can believe in their ideas even when those ideas are against the norm. The story takes place in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama, where racism is quite prominent. The novel includes the characters Atticus Finch, Mrs. Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra, who show the courage and strength to stand up for their controversial beliefs. Atticus

When the rumors about Atticus are spread across the town, Mrs. Maudie does not speak about him like the rest of the town. She performs small and subtle actions to show that she is trying to defend the Finches, such as by holding Scout’s hand when she is near the townspeople. During Aunt Alexandra’s usual neighborhood meeting in the Finches’ home, the guests discuss the Tom Robinson case. Mrs. Merriweather, one of the guests, begins rambling about how her servants have acted poorly since the beginning of the Tom Robinson case. Mrs. Merriweather states, “I tell you there are some good but misguided people in this town… Folks in this town who think they’re right... but all they did was stir ’em up…” (Lee 311). Referring to the black servants in her home as “them,” she explains that Atticus is a good person, but is choosing the wrong action and is suggesting to the black people that they have more power than the whites. Mrs. Maudie is not the type of person to become involved in rumors, but she responds to Mrs. Merriweather, “His food doesn’t stick down, does it?” (Lee 312). Mrs. Maudie is generally quiet during the gathering, but when she finally announces her thoughts in order to protect the Finches. Even though Mrs. Merriweather and the other guests have been invited to the Finches’ home, they are only criticizing Atticus while eating his food, disregarding his hospitality. Mrs.

The main idea of her list of beliefs is that a girl must act ladylike in any situation. For that reason, Aunt Alexandra often tells Scout that her actions and outfits are inappropriate and that she should wear dresses rather than overalls. Throughout her life, Scout and her family have attended Aunt Alexandra’s Christmas party, where the ideas that her outfit are unfit and that she needs to act more ladylike are always discussed. Scout states, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches...she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants...Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets…” (Lee 108). Scout and Aunt Alexandra’s views on what girls are allowed to wear differ tremendously. She even decides to confront Atticus about her concerns about Scout. Scout states, “But the only time I ever heard Atticus speak sharply to anyone was when I once heard him say, ‘Sister, I do the best I can with them!’ It had something to do with going around in my overalls” (Lee 108). Scout overhears their discussion and mentions how she has never seen Atticus become aggravated before, showing that Aunt Alexandra must have commented on Scout poorly to the point where Atticus strays from his composure. The main reason they argue is because