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

998 Words4 Pages
Some people say it’s this, others say it’s that, but what really is courage? To me courage does not have one definition but many. Courage may be the ability to do something that frightens you. It may be standing up for what is right. Courage may be following your heart. Or, courage may simply be backing down from something you are tempted to do. The theme of courage is illustrated in To Kill a Mockingbird by Scout, Atticus, and Mrs. Dubose. Throughout the story Scout is one of the many characters that shows courage. One of the main moments in which she shows courage, occurs when many people are against her father Atticus’s decision on supporting a black man in court. Atticus knew that his decision would not settle well with people and he warned Scout and her brother Jem that…show more content…
No matter what anybody says to you, don’t let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change...it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.” said Atticus (Lee 76) Just as Atticus had warned, Scout soon found herself in this exact situation. Though very tempted, Scout heard her father’s words in the back of her head, and stood down to Cecil Jacobs in the schoolyard. “My fists were clenched and I was ready to let fly...I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be. I soon forgot.” Scout (Lee 74) This showed an enormous amount of courage to step down from a fight like this, especially for Scout who loved to fight with everyone. Another one of the main characters that with no doubt showed courage in the story was Atticus. He knew right when he took up the case to defend a black man, that he would not win, but he did it anyway. He knew the case was almost meant for him, and although he was scared, he was determined to put his best effort towards
Open Document