Atticus Finch Courage Quotes

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. In the award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a single dad with two children-Scout and Jem-who are six and nine years old. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem experience many mysteries, one being about Boo Radley; the neighbor who apparently has been locked inside for decades. Atticus had a predicament of his own. Atticus decided to take on the role of defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused with raping a white woman. Atticus Finch and Boo Radley are characters that demonstrate the theme of the book; courage is doing what’s right even when …show more content…
For instance, Atticus decided to defend Tom, an African American accused of rape, in a court case. During this period of time, African Americans were treated like squalor, facing obscene amounts of prejudice and racism. Atticus, a white man, decided to take the case and stand up for Tom. Atticus said “ When it is a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins”(Lee 295). This quote indicates that Atticus knew that Tom most likely would not win the case, but he still fought until the very last minute to prove Tom’s innocence. Atticus fought for Tom because he knew it was morally correct, not because he thought he would earn some sort of recognition. This fits perfectly with the lesson of the book, courage is doing what 's right even when the odds of succeeding are limited. Next in line with the trial, Atticus also presented his courage when he shot the mad dog. Atticus shot the dog because he knew the dog would cause danger to Maycomb. Atticus was known as the best shot in Maycomb, but he did not use that to his advantage. He did not shoot animals often because he felt like he was too powerful over the animals, so he never shot them. Atticus also wanted to be an encouraging role model to his children, Jem and Scout. “I wanted you to see what courage is, instead of pursuing the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked …show more content…
The theme of the book, courage is doing what is right even when the odds of succeeding are limited, is illustrated by the characters Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. The brave acts done by these two individuals were all done out of the pure goodness of their hearts. This proves that it takes absolutely no talent to be a nice person. If Boo can do it, so can anyone