What Is Atticus Finch Courageous

Courage. This is a common theme that people use to define personalities, beginning at a young age. Teachers have books on courage, and their lessons to the five-year old students is this: to be courageous is to have the ability to do things out of your comfort zone. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea of courage is different. To be courageous is to do something you might be frightened of in the face of defeat. It is to put aside your personal repercussions and to still take action on something. This concept of courage is the one that separates the brave from the truly courageous. This kind of courage seems to be enveloped in the lives of those who reside in Maycomb. In the book, the reader is presented with several characters …show more content…
“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.”(101). Atticus knows that by taking the case, it is most probable that he will lose the trial. However, he will work his hardest to prove the innocence of Tom because he knows that Tom is at a disadvantage for being an African American, and he knows that taking the case is the right thing to do. Maycomb is racist. Some people aren’t forthright about it, but the feelings are there. To help a black person, or to choose the company of black people over white people (as in the case of Mr. Raymond), is unheard of. So when Atticus accepts the responsibility of the case, he also accepts the troubles that will follow in it’s path. This is courage. “...Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life.”(290). Atticus acknowledges that the efforts he goes to in order to protect Tom Robinson and to get his innocence recognized was in vain. However, although he loses the case, he still causes Bob Ewell a lot of trouble. What Atticus does is the equivalence of standing up to bullies on a playground. He helped a victim, knowingly succumbing himself to the wrath of the bullies in the future. Repercussions from people like Bob Ewell are inevitable, but it’s those who step in his way despite what they know of how he …show more content…
In Atticus’s words, courage is when, “‘...you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.’”(149). Harper Lee wanted to show people that even at the most basic level, true courage can change someone’s life, as in the example of Scout. Having this kind of courage shows that we are not afraid to put ourselves in the way of danger or defeat in order to do what we feel is right. By doing this, we take the power away from the bullies. We take the power away from the selfish and the liars, and are able to work at restoring