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How To Show Moral Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Nelson Mandela once said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who doesn’t feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” The novel, To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos of human behavior. Atticus, a protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird with high moral standards. Boo radley, a shy and innocent white man who was convicted for a crime that he didn’t commit. Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white female which is completely false. In the novel To kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses conflict and symbolism to show moral courage. First, Harper Lee uses conflict to represent the theme of moral courage. To begin with, Atticus shooting the dog shows moral courage because it showed bravery and …show more content…

Atticus taking over the case of Tom Robinson shows determination because it indicates his fearlessness to do what is right. For example, Atticus himself had said, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again”(Harper 100). Prior to this quote, it states fearlessness because Atticus would rather take the risk of losing prestige than to be seen as an racist coward. This also shows atticus a honest brave lawyer who understand the equality of people and justice. Proceeding to symbolism which is something physical or concrete that author uses to embody an idea. Harper Lee uses Symbolism to represent the theme of moral courage. First of all, Atticus symbolizes justice to show moral courage because he believes that all men should be equal and there shouldn’t be any sort of inequality. This can be seen though Atticus, a model of morality for many readers, as well as an example of an honest

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Most Courageous Character To Kill A Mockingbird is a book written by Harper Lee that shows numerous situations involving symbolism and courage. Atticus Finch is a character who kept his own beliefs throughout any event that occurred. Standing up for Tom Robinson and others while raising his children, Atticus shows the most courage by following his moral beliefs and not caring about what others think of him. A rabid dog conveying the symbolic meaning of prejudice and racism appears in Maycomb.

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Those who have courage in the novel risk their safety and reputation. While many characters in the book show bravery, the actions of Atticus, Jem, and Scout Finch remain the most prominent. Out of all the characters in Lee’s book, Atticus demonstrates the most courage. He commits to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, in court, a deed that costs him the respect and social status he once had with many whites in the town. He helps Tom outside of court as well, going so far as to face a mob of angry men to protect him.

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Charlotte from the book Charlotte's Web embraces similar qualities to Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. In Charlotte’s Web, a pig named Wilbur fearfully awaits the day his owner slaughters him. A clever spider named Charlotte notices Wilbur’s angst and feels tremendous empathy toward him. As a result, Charlotte weaves a web that illustrates positive words describing Wilbur. Charlotte intentionally brings attention to Wilbur so his owner will develop empathy for him as well.

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“ To Kill a Mockingbird” is a story about a county in Alabama in the 1930’s, drawing attention to the the different social classes in the South and the racism that occurred during that time. Characters in difficult situations unexpectedly showing courage is one of the major themes in this book, and is shown through many of the actions that people take in this story. In the book, the word courage can be defined as the ability to withstand hatred and judgement with a high head and a grateful heart. This book has many courageous characters, including but not limited to Atticus Finch, Reverend Sykes, Boo Radley, and Dolphus Raymond.

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“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Nelson Mandela). This quote by Nelson Mandela reminds me of Atticus in the story To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus had enough courage to overcome any obstacle that stood in front of him defending him, his family, and Tom Robinson. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many of the characters have similar traits.

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To Kill a Mockingbird is an important text worthy of all the recognition it received in the time following its original publication. A prime piece of fine American literature based in a period of extreme racial segregation and inequality. Set in a southern town of Maycomb Alabama during the depression, Lee follows three years of the life of eight-year-old Scout (Jean Louise) Finch and her older brother Jem (Jeremy) Finch as their father is, for three years, a fundamental figure in a case that had punctured the town as a result of the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man. As the years commence/continue, Scout and Jem, alongside the audience grow increasingly aware of prejudice throughout society as they learn the importance of perspective and being courageous when faced with adversity. By illustrating the influence of prejudice on society, Harper Lee challenges the perspectives of society, criticizing the nature of humankind to stereotype and be prejudice towards one another and in doing so, she successfully convinces the author to look beyond the facade society creates and locate the humanity that is concealed within everybody.

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Courage in the Face of Adversity From Susan B. Anthony fighting for women’s suffrage to Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus, many of the most prominent figures in history have shown tremendous courage. Courageous acts and people are not only part of history but are also central to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The novel includes a variety of themes, but the most significant is that courage is not the lack of fear but rather perseverance and integrity in the face of insurmountable adversity and possible repercussions, which Lee reveals when Atticus, along with Scout, Jem, and Dill, faces a lynch mob. Atticus defends Tom Robinson against the mob and Jem stands up to his father when he stays to protect him, while

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To Have And To Use Eleanor Roosevelt once acclaimed, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along” (Roosevelt). Eleanor Roosevelt faced many challenges and prejudices throughout her life. She would not have been able to overcome these if she had not demonstrated strength and courage.

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Firstly, the diction used around Atticus promotes the theme of courage in this book. The way that Atticus is described, as fair, and level-headed, shows that even through

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Atticus was given an impossible case to win, but he dedicated a majority of his time on the case. “This case, Tom Robinson 's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man 's conscience — Scout, I couldn 't go to church and worship God if I didn 't try to help that man” (104). This quote truly portrays Atticus’s character and mindset. During this time period, not many other lawyers would feel this way about that particular case. Atticus’s implies that he would not be able to carry on with his life without helping Tom Robinson and that he wanted to help Tom walk away a free man.

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In the novel Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he felt and knew that was the right thing to do. Even though Atticus knows he has little to no chance of winning the case, he still proceeds to defend Tom. While Atticus explains to Scout why he is taking on the case he states, “I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again,” (Lee 100). Atticus takes on the case knowing he may not win but does it anyways because it’s what he feels is the right thing to do. No matter what other people may do or say he does it anyway.

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1399 Words | 6 Pages

Humans live in a world where moral values are very clearly set determining what is good and what is bad. We know what scares us and how racism should be treated. Nevertheless, this was not the case back in Alabama during the 1950s. In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee narrates the lives of the people of Maycomb, Alabama, focusing on the story of Scout and Jem Finch, and the case of a said to be rape. In this emotion filled narrative, readers learn how life was back then not only in general, but for the separate social statuses that there was.

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"Jem, 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. " This insightful statement was told by Atticus Finch to his son, Jem Finch. Many people in Maycomb had to deal with racism, hatred, and discrimination because of their skin color or because of the court case.

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Atticus 's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom with vigor and determination, giving it all he 's got with one mission in mind. He wants the people of

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Being the older sibling, Jem realizes the long-held values of Maycomb, but only as he matures does he understand what it means to have moral integrity. There are many times in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in which the reader can see Jem’s maturity and his moral values. The first time Jem starts to understand moral integrity is when he is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose. After her death, Atticus explains just how much she was going through, and this information had a great impact on Jem. Jem furthers his knowledge of moral integrity during the trial.

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