How Does Atticus Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

Can you imagine trying to defend a black man in the South during the 1930’s when racism was still extremely prevalent? Well that is exactly what Atticus Finch did in To Kill A Mockingbird. Tom Robinson was a black man accused of rape. Atticus, being a lawyer, took on the role of defending him. It was known that Tom had a mangled left arm and had no purpose in doing the accused crime, but in the end racism won, over and the court 's decision was guilty purely based on skin color. Courage is a main theme throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tries to teach Scout and Jem what courage really is and he does this by setting an example for them. Atticus is one of the most courageous characters I have known till this day; he stood up for what was …show more content…
One example is towards the beginning of the book. Scout was getting in a lot of trouble with kids at school and decided to ask Atticus why he is helping Tom. “‘Atticus, are we going to win it?’ ‘No, honey… Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,’” (Lee 76). He knew exactly what he was going into. He knew that he wouldn’t have won this case simply because racism was deep rooted in their society, but he still wanted to give Tom a good chance. “‘If I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again,’” (Lee 75). In this quote Atticus explains to Scout that because of his moral codes and and who he is as a person he had to do this case. He had to be brave and face the racist and hateful people because it was the right thing to …show more content…
In particular, his character best exemplifies courage in the book. Atticus shows courage multiple ways, for one he stood up for what was right in very hard situations, he went against mainstream society, and he did what was necessary even though he knew it could lead to him or his kids getting hurt. This is seen through the book as his character unfolds, helping Tom Robinson, raising his children Scout and Jem, and who he is around everyone in the town. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, shows that courage is not just one thing and isn’t easy. Throughout the book she shows that courage can get you hurt, that it can help people, change things for the better, and that is it good to go against the grain every so often. She shows that in some instances you have to stop doing what society says and do what is right. Last of all, Atticus was a brave and courageous man, but he was so much more, he was a neighborly townsman, breathtaking and brilliant lawyer, and a loving and caring