The Theme Of True Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is true courage, Harper Lee demonstrates that true courage means standing up for what you believe in through Scout standing up to the adults in her life. She uses Scout to do so through the way she speaks up to adults for her friends and family, she talks back to her relatives when she needs to, and she isn't afraid to step into danger to protect her family. In the beginning of the book Scout begins the first grade. To her, school is a big deal because she already knows how to read. When she tries to show off her ability to read, she is shut down by Miss Caroline who tells her that her father taught her wrong. Scout stands up for her father and herself, ”Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach

‘He hasn’t taught me anything, Miss Caroline. Atticus ain’t got time to teach me anything,’ I added, when Miss Caroline smiled and shook her head. ‘Why, he’s so tired at night he just sits in the living room and reads.’”(19). Although Scout doesn't realize it, she's extremely brave for standing up against an adult. She stands up to Miss Caroline again but this time for her friend, Walter Cunningham. Miss Caroline doesn’t understand Walter’s money situation and when Scout attempts to explain the situation, “ I tried again: ‘Walter’s one of the Cunninghams, Miss Caroline.’ ‘I beg your padon, Jean Louise?’ ‘That’s okay, ma’am, you’ll get to know all the county folks after a while. The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back—no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along.’” (22). This illustrates that she stood up to her teacher not once but twice which shows how courageous she is at just 6 years

A flash of plain fear was going out of his eyes, but returned when Dill and Jem wriggled into the light. There was a smell of stale whiskey and pigpen about, and when I glanced around I discovered that these men were strangers. They were not the people I saw last night. Hot embarrassment shot through me: I had leaped triumphantly into a ring of people I had never seen before.” (172). This shows that she was able to use all of her bravery to jump in front of an angry mob of adults and separate them from her father. Furthermore, she wasn’t just willing to protect him she was willing to try and distract the mob by talking to them, “ ‘Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment gettin‘ along?’ Mr. Walter Cunningham’s legal affairs were well known to me; Atticus had once described them at length. The big man blinked and hooked his thumbs in his overall straps. He seemed uncomfortable; he cleared his throat and looked away. My friendly overture had fallen flat. Mr. Cunningham wore no hat, and the top half of his forehead was white in contrast to his sunscorched face, which led me to believe that he wore one most days. He shifted his feet, clad in heavy work shoes. ‘Don’t you remember