To Kill A Mockingbird Courage Essay

Courage is the act to do something that frightens one. While this is the technical definition of courage, a better way to define courage would be the mental or moral ability to surpass one's fears for the benefit of many. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the courage shown changes the outcome of the entirety of the book. Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate, all exemplify courage in a way that affects others and their lives.

Atticus Finch demonstrates courage through his actions and words on the Tom Robinson case. He believes that courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it all the way through”(128). By telling the kids this, he relays the importance of not giving up on what you

Heck Tate’s change of heart after the loss of Tom Robinson’s trial motivated Heck Tate to be more courageous when the time came with Boo Radley. When Heck Tate is on the stand Atticus asks, “Did you call a doctor, Sheriff?(190),to which Heck Tate responds with “It wasn’t necessary” (191). By saying it wasn’t necessary Heck Tate implies that the reason there was no doctor called to fact check the allegations was because of Tom Robinson race. By admitting this Heck Tate showed that they were blatantly racist towards Tom. This trial caused Heck Tate to start thinking about the way he had been treating people that were being discriminated against. This is shown when “Mr. Tate reached in his side pocket and withdrew a long switchblade knife” (315). When Heck Tate took out the knife that had been used by Mr. Ewell to attack Jem and Scout, he was tampering with evidence. This didn’t matter to him because he was looking out for Boo. Mr. Tate took the knife even though what he was doing was illegal but that didn’t matter because he wanted to help Boo. While he had never specified fear of breaking the law, Heck Tate defying the law is courageous because it is directly related to his job, of which he believes in. When Atticus continuously pushes for Jem to go to court for the death of Mr Ewell Heck exclaims that,“God damn it, I’m not thinking of Jem!” (315). Heck Tate fights for Atticus to just let go of

When Jem goes to retrieve his pants from the Radley house, “they were folded across the fence… like they were expectin' me” (66). Boo Radley sewing and folding Jem’s pants demonstrates his care for Jem. Him knowing that Jem will come back to retrieve the pants relays his knowledge of the kids and how he wants to help them. After the fire at Miss. Maudie’s, Scout is told that Boo Radley gave her a blanket “Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.”(81). He pushes past his fear of leaving his house so that Scout would not be cold, and he did so knowing he would not receive recognition for it. This small act of care by Boo, similar to fixing and folding Jem’s pants, are indications of Boo’s love for the kids, and how he will help them, despite his fears. When Mr. Ewell was attacking the kids “He slowly squeezed the breath out of [Scout]… Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground” (301). All of the events leading up to this fight demonstrated what he would do to help the kids, but the ultimate event showing courage was him killing Mr. Ewell. Boo went and fought for the kids even though it could end up with him having the same fate as Tom Robinson, but it didn’t matter to him. Because of his love for the kids he is able to push past all of his fears and possible complications that may come from it. Boo Radley patching up Jem’s pants, putting a blanket around