Greek philosopher Aristotle once stated, "You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor" (Aristotle). Aristotle's words are true in context with Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, in which many of the characters would not have been able to accomplish anything unless they had the courage they possessed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee takes the readers through a fictional story from the perspective of a young girl living in Alabama during the 1930s. Scout, the narrator, is subject to both the moral and immoral parts of life. She tells the readers of the hardships and prejudices she had seen while living in Maycomb County, including racial and gender prejudices. Scout also
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Dubose faced the possibility of defeat, they both showed courage when they fought for their beliefs. When Scout first learns her father, Atticus, is to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, she asks him why he is going through with it if Atticus will lose. Atticus replies, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win" (Lee 101). Scout does not realize this, but this case in particular has significant meaning to Atticus. The Tom Robinson case is affecting him personally and Atticus believes it is his duty to defend Tom. Atticus knows he will not win the case, but he is going through with it because if he didn't, it would go against his beliefs. Atticus is fighting for what he believes in and is showing courage while doing so even though he knows the chances are winning are practically non-existential. Similar to Atticus, Mrs. Dubose also shows courage in an uphill battle for her beliefs. After Mrs. Dubose died, Scout and Jem learned she was battling with an addiction to morphine and was trying to break her dependence on the drug. Atticus tells the children Mrs. Dubose was the most courageous person he had ever known and wanted them to realize that "[courage is] when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what . . . Mrs. Dubose won . . . According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody" (Lee 149). Mrs. Dubose had a few
Dubose faced the possibility of defeat, they both showed courage when they fought for their beliefs. When Scout first learns her father, Atticus, is to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, she asks him why he is going through with it if Atticus will lose. Atticus replies, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win" (Lee 101). Scout does not realize this, but this case in particular has significant meaning to Atticus. The Tom Robinson case is affecting him personally and Atticus believes it is his duty to defend Tom. Atticus knows he will not win the case, but he is going through with it because if he didn't, it would go against his beliefs. Atticus is fighting for what he believes in and is showing courage while doing so even though he knows the chances are winning are practically non-existential. Similar to Atticus, Mrs. Dubose also shows courage in an uphill battle for her beliefs. After Mrs. Dubose died, Scout and Jem learned she was battling with an addiction to morphine and was trying to break her dependence on the drug. Atticus tells the children Mrs. Dubose was the most courageous person he had ever known and wanted them to realize that "[courage is] when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what . . . Mrs. Dubose won . . . According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody" (Lee 149). Mrs. Dubose had a few