To Kill A Mockingbird How Does Atticus Show Courage

362 Words2 Pages

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout that courage is “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Atticus has shown a lot of courage to his kids. Atticus showed courage by accepting the Tom Robinson case, by standing his ground at the jailhouse, and by standing up to Aunt Alexandra about Calpurnia. He even tries to get his kids to follow in his footsteps. What Atticus meant when he told Scout what courage was, was that even if you know that you're going to lose something it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. He knew that when he decided to take Tom Robinson's’ case that he would lose, but he decided that he wouldn't give up on it. He wanted to be a good example for Jem and Scout. Maybe he thought that when they grew up and faced a difficult time that they would look back on this part of their lives. …show more content…

Atticus even said in the book that he was afraid what the effect of the case would have on his kids. He didn't want his kids to end up bitter and racist when they grew older. The night that he sat in front of the jailhouse, he knew that he was in trouble but he wasn't going to move out of the way. Aunt Alexandra didn't want Calpurnia to stay but Atticus stood up to her and told her that Calpurnia was a faithful family member. I agree with Atticus’s definition of courage but I also think that courage can be many things. In my opinion, courage can be doing anything that is frightening. You never really know whether you're going to succeed in something until you try. Atticus has set a good path for his kids to follow. He has been courageous in many things. He always tries to teach them what's wrong and what is right. I think that Atticus is right in the choices that he has