Examples Of Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

839 Words4 Pages
Kira Mazel Ms. Plaza English 8 Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus describes courage as “ when you know you've been licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. Your rarely win but sometimes you do.” Atticus describes this definition to his children, Scout and Jem, to make sure that they understand what real courage is in his mind. Like Scout and Jem, many people believe courage is a physical act such as holding a gun, but courage can also be going against ordinary in society and what people expect or even holding back on temptations. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee portrays the act of physical courage in many of the characters. When a snowstorm…show more content…
Mrs. Dubose is a old women who is neighbors of the Finches and is not very kind to Jem and Scout. Her love for her flower garden sometimes get the best of her and she becomes very protective of anyone who may come to harm them. After Jem and Mrs. Dubose get into an argument, Jem seeks revenge by cutting and destroying her camellia garden. Atticus scolds Jem and explains to the children that Mrs. Dubose who is a morphine addict, is struggling to overcome her addiction before she dies so she can die as a free women. Later in the novel when more of Maycomb finds out that Atticus is “defending a nigger”some kids in school bully Scout and call her father a “nigger-lover.” When Scout hears this she becomes furious and her first instinct is to physically hurt them. Here Scout learns courage when her father teaches her not to fight back to people who talk badly about Atticus and to hold back on temptations even when she really wants to fight them. Atticus also stands by his non-violence act with Mr.Ewell when he knows that Mr.Ewell wants to fight him, Atticus knows that violence won't solve anything and remains calm.Jem also has courage when he refuses to tell his friends about how Atticus finally did something worth telling his friends about. Atticus kills the mad dog, but Jem
Open Document