To Kill A Mockingbird Courage Essay

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Courage can be defined as the mental, physical or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. According to Atticus Finch, one of the main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, "Courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Lee 124) No matter how it can be defined, Harper Lee portrays the theme of courage in To Kill A Mockingbird. It is one of the most predominant themes and is shown in many of the characters. Throughout the events that occur in the novel, courage was used to overcome the challenges that were faced, and was an evident component that was utilized in order to gain a better understanding of the plot. With this, courage …show more content…
Although physical and mental courage can be associated together, it takes moral courage to do what is right as opposed to what is wrong. Throughout the rumours that were said about Boo Radley, his strong sense of morality and justice motivated him to defend Jem and Scout by Bob Ewell. With determination, and giving it all he had, he attacked Mr. Ewell, thus leading to his death and the safety of the children. Boo did not defend the children in hopes to gain a better reputation of himself, but rather did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. Although Boo did not say anything to anybody or claim that he was the one who protected Jem and Scout from potential harm, his actions remained a secret to Jem and Scout only. He did this act simply from the kindness of his heart. Boo Radley was able to utilize the courage he had towards his advantage. Determining what was morally right, he was able to remove the children from danger and into the hands of their father, Atticus. He went willingly; knowing the given circumstances such as the chance of finally being exposed by society via Jem and Scout, or potentially being beaten by Bob. Still, he disregarded every potential consequence and did what he thought was correct. Once again, courage, or moral courage in this case, was displayed in To Kill A Mockingbird and was used to perform difficult tasks that occurred in the …show more content…
Having said this, mental courage serves as a huge toll on how courage is defined to be the primary theme in To Kill A Mockingbird. Regarding any manner in To Kill A Mockingbird, it is the unknown and hidden courage that underlies within the actions that were taken in the novel. For instance, Scout provided an impeccable example of mental courage when she had walked away from fighting with Cecil Jacobs in chapter nine. “Somehow, if I fought Cecil Jacobs I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked Jem and me to do something for him, I could take being called a coward for him. I felt extremely noble for having remembered…” (Lee 79) outlines the mental courage Scout used in order to avoid her fight. She was able to analyze the possible outcomes of the fight, and oppressed her initial instinct of fighting Cecil, rather than not thinking rationally and doing what she had wanted to do. Due to her mentality, Scout had eliminated the chance of being called a “coward” by Atticus and depleted the chance of getting herself hurt. Scout’s maturity in this scene not only perpetuated loose ends with Cecil,

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