More handpicked essays just for you.
Courage as theme to kill a mockingbird
To kill a mockingbird literature review
To kill a mockingbird literature review
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Calpurnia, and Atticus stand out when courage comes to mind. These characters show courage in many unique ways with different situations. In the early 1930s, in the deep south, racial discrimination was a huge conflict, for example, the Jim Crows Laws were in play, and it legalized segregation between blacks and whites. Courage isn’t always shown in situations, but simply throughout growing up.
Also it was courageous of Atticus to teach his children not to judge another until they know what that person is really going through. There is a quote that Atticus said “Never Judge anyone, until you have been in their shoes, and walked around in them” (pg. 86). Along with Atticus, Boo Radley is another character with courage. Boo saved Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell.
Atticus’s definition of courage is going through with something you believe in even when you know it might go wrong. In the book, there are many courageous acts that happen but Atticus Finch shows the most courage all around. Atticus willingly takes on the Tom Robinson case knowing many risks and threats could come from his decision. Atticus is a honest lawyer that
Lee shows courage through Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley. Courage is shown through Atticus Finch when he decides he’s going to defend Tom Robinson in the trial. Tom was a black man who everyone knew was correct in the trial, but most people in Maycomb were racist and thought he should go to jail. Atticus knows he will be ostracised and hated for defending this man against a white woman, but he has courage to stand up for what he knows is right even
In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many times when the characters are faced with challenges and they show courage as they overcome them. Some of those times when courage is expressed are when Atticus defends Tom, when Scout gets the lynch party to back off, and when Boo saves the kids from Bob Ewell. These are examples of courage in the face of adversity because these characters risked their own lives to help out another character. The first example of courage in the face of adversity is when Atticus defends Tom Robinson. Atticus shows courage by doing this because of how everyone says that he is defending negroes and that is wrong.
One example of courage was him taking the Tom Robinson case. This action is very significant in the novel because Atticus had courage and hope for Tom’s sake during the trial, even when they did not have much of a chance of winning. Another act of courage Atticus shows during the novel is when he shoots the mad dog. Atticus said, “...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 115)
According to Atticus, this is the ability to face adversity and go through with something honourable, even though you realize that it is impossible to win. There are quite a few characters in the book, which show some kind of courage, but there is one in particular, Atticus. Harper Lee made Atticus the hero of moral and a symbol of courage in her novel. He is the figurehead for all three kinds of courage I mentioned. For one he confronts a rabid dog, which displays physical courage.
“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.” (128) Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird was displayed in many different areas, from not following poplar opinion, to trying to overcome an addiction. Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one, or strength in the face of pain or grief. Mrs. Dubose, Atticus Finch, and Boo (Arthur) Radley are three characters who demonstrate the theme of courage.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the lives of Scout Finch, her brother Jem, and her father Atticus, and the neighborhood of Maycomb County, are truly revealed during the Great Depression in Alabama. They experience an unjustly and controversial trial when Atticus, the novel’s protagonist, has to defend Tom Robinson against the ignorant antagonist Bob Ewell as one of the story’s main conflict. Throughout this time period, America was in a critical economic struggle. In relation to the book, the Cunningham’s had numerous difficulties finding ways to recover, as it says, “The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest (Lee 25).”
Option 2 Literary Analysis To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being
Mark Twain once said “It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”. There are plenty of ways moral courage is showcased in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, especially through different uses of literary elements. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated by the story’s main character Jean Louise, who goes by the ]nickname Scout. The story takes place in a small town called Maycomb in Alabama during the Great Depression and reveals the growth of the children, especially Scout, throughout the novel. This novel includes a plot and a subplot.
In the novel,“To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus’s statement of “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them” is true due to the evidence given from the characters Boo Radley,Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell. Who throughout the novel have demonstrated a dramatic upcoming and are not seen for who they are but what people believe they have done. The simple wisdom of Atticus’s words reflects the complicated matters of rumors and gossip in Maycomb county.
The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is people shouldn’t judge other people. All people are the same deep down. “I think there’s one kind of folks. Folks.” (Harper Lee 227)
“Courage doesn 't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I’ll try again tomorrow’” - Mary Anne Radmacher. Through this quote one can see the advantages of real courage. One can really understand the true meaning of courage by reading the books To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The book by Harper Lee is written by a 9 year old’s perspective named Scout.
Atticus displayed courage by putting his life on the line and killing the rabies infected dog as well as standing up for Tim Robinson when no one else would. Like Atticus, Jem displayed a great amount of courage when he touched the Radley house and by defending Scout against Mr. Ewell. Scout showed courage by putting herself before a lynch mob ,in the process she saved both Atticus and Tom Robinson, as well as walking Boo Radley home .This instantaneous bravery that arises within a person in dangerous or threatening situations helps people step out of their comfort zones for the better. Courage is the ability to perform even if all your instincts are screaming for you not
