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To Kill A Mockingbird Courage Essay

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To Kill a Mockingbird “Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone.” A courageous person will stand up for what they think is right. Throughout the novel, this idea was presented. The novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, was written by Harper Lee and published by HarperCollins Publishers in 1960. This novel was about the story of the lives of Jean Louise Finch alias Scout and her brother, Jem, growing up in Maycomb County. Along with their summer friend, Dill, the children become immersed in the idea of getting a glimpse of their isolated and unseen neighbor, Arthur Radley also known as Boo. Meanwhile, Atticus Finch, Scout’s and Jem’s father, has decided to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell.The children get caught up in the trial, in which Tom is convicted and eventually killed for trying to escape prison. …show more content…

Dill challenged Jem to simply touch the Radley residence, a home that seemed haunted in their eyes. Of course, Jem accepted the challenge and succeeded. Lee writes, “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare.” However, as time goes on, Jem portrayed physical and moral courage when he faced the mob that threatened to kill his father in prison. Atticus demanded that Jem, Scout, and Dill return home, but Jem firmly shook his head. Lee writes: “Jem shook his head. As Atticus's fists went to his hips, so did Jem's, and as they faced each other I could see little resemblance between them: … but they were somehow alike. Mutual defiance made them alike....Jem always does what he is told. Here, he doesn’t. He is worried about his father, and his sister. He stands his ground. Atticus makes threats, requests and pleas, but Jem refuses.” Meaning, Jem was daring and mature enough to stay strong it what he believed what was right. As time went on, is seen to have Jem acted more and more

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In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem, or Jeremy Atticus Finch, is Scout's brother, and throughout the story he changes and matures a lot through a series of stages. First, you have the event that caused this, the trial, then you have the influence that it put upon Jem ,and lastly, how he had overall changed from the experience. After Tom's Trial, when Tom is deemed guilty and goes to jail, Jem is mad because he feels it's unfair. Jem realizes that his outlook on law was rather naive and that there's much more to it, and that his ways of thinking were childish as shown when he is speaking to Atticus, “How could they do it, how could they?’’

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When Dill came to visit for the summer he challenged Jem’s courage and bravery. He stated, “I’ll swap you the gray ghost if you just go up and touch the house” (Lee 14).The Radley house to Maycomb was extremely similar to Pandora’s box. In Jem’s mind, touching this house could either get him killed or release the ‘evil’ contained within. So, what seems ridiculously easy to most was Jem’s biggest fear.

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