Someone once stated, “Courage is the ability to do something difficult even when there’s a risk.” Courage plays a large role in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Throughout the novel, courage was seen through the characters Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch. These characters all demonstrate excessive ideas of courage as the novel goes on. Through the characters minds there is fear involved, but was overcome by their courageous actions.
To begin with, Jem and Scout Finch show many examples of courage in the novel. One major example is when Jem pulled the harmful Bob Ewell off of Scout and saved her from potentially being stabbed. The text says, “Someone rolled against me and I felt Jem. He was up like lightning …show more content…
The first example is when Atticus shot the rabid dog, Tim Johnson. In the text it says, “In a fog, Jem and I watched our father take a gun and walk out into the middle of the street,” (Page 96). When Atticus shot the dog it changed the children’s perspective of their father. Atticus told the kids that he wants them to see what real courage is. He follows that statement up by adding that courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. Atticus believes that guns give humans an advantage. The dog, Tim Johnson, had rabies and Atticus was helping the community out by shooting him. This shows that Atticus saw a need in his community and put it into action. He also put his children's needs and his communities needs in front of his own needs, showing his compassion and good morals. Atticus stated, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view,” (Page 30). Atticus has courageously raised his children to not judge others until you know their story and what they are going through. The texts also states, “I’m simply defending a ‘Negro’- his names Tom Robinson,” (Page 75). This is the most extreme example of courage in this novel because Atticus is defending an African-American during the time of racial segregation. Taking this case is potentially dangerous for Atticus considering the whites in Maycomb want Tom to be found guilty of rape. The town of Maycomb is upset with Atticus for defending him during the trial, nut Atticus still continues to do everything in his power to guarantee that Tom receives a fair trial. Atticus shows courage in this story by expressing his feelings on what he believes
To begin with, Jem and Scout Finch show many examples of courage in the novel. One major example is when Jem pulled the harmful Bob Ewell off of Scout and saved her from potentially being stabbed. The text says, “Someone rolled against me and I felt Jem. He was up like lightning …show more content…
The first example is when Atticus shot the rabid dog, Tim Johnson. In the text it says, “In a fog, Jem and I watched our father take a gun and walk out into the middle of the street,” (Page 96). When Atticus shot the dog it changed the children’s perspective of their father. Atticus told the kids that he wants them to see what real courage is. He follows that statement up by adding that courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. Atticus believes that guns give humans an advantage. The dog, Tim Johnson, had rabies and Atticus was helping the community out by shooting him. This shows that Atticus saw a need in his community and put it into action. He also put his children's needs and his communities needs in front of his own needs, showing his compassion and good morals. Atticus stated, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view,” (Page 30). Atticus has courageously raised his children to not judge others until you know their story and what they are going through. The texts also states, “I’m simply defending a ‘Negro’- his names Tom Robinson,” (Page 75). This is the most extreme example of courage in this novel because Atticus is defending an African-American during the time of racial segregation. Taking this case is potentially dangerous for Atticus considering the whites in Maycomb want Tom to be found guilty of rape. The town of Maycomb is upset with Atticus for defending him during the trial, nut Atticus still continues to do everything in his power to guarantee that Tom receives a fair trial. Atticus shows courage in this story by expressing his feelings on what he believes