To Kill A Mockingbird Courage Examples

Improved Essays
Examples of Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird Courage is a theme that has been used in literature since the beginning of writing itself. One of the many forms of literature are novels. Novels use courage as a theme to show a character or group being able to overcome their fears and reach their objective. A very well known novel, of the 20th century, is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee conveys courage in characters such as Atticus, Scout, and Jem to show one’s ability and will to overcome fear and worldly injustices.
One of the greatest obstacle that many of characters faced in To Kill a Mockingbird is fear. Fear is a deterrent that keeps people from reaching their goals or standing up for what is right. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the characters uses courage to overcome their fears. The two characters that
…show more content…
Early in the novel, Scout befriends a farmer boy by name of Walter Cunningham Jr., who comes from a poor lower class family. After learning about his father trying to help Atticus as one of members of the jury, she wants to invite Walter over for dinner. Her Aunt Alexandra forbid Walter because he is not the same kind of ‘folk’ that the Finches are. Scout is quite unset and uses her courage to stand up to her Aunt and try to convince her to let Walter come over. She does not succeed but still is courageous effort to stand up for her friend. Courage is a major theme and shown in many different forms in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee uses her characters like Atticus and Scout to show the different kind of courage and how they are used. She uses Atticus to show how a man just keeping his morale and personal code is courage. She uses Scout to show how even a little girl can be courageous effort to stand up to worldly injustices such as prejudice. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that shows us how to be courageous and stand up for what is

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Boo Radley Courage

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee courage among many other things is a key theme in the story. There are two characters that comes to mind when I think of courage in the story and those people are Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. These two characters show tremendous courage throughout the story from saving the kids to defending Tom Robinson even though it puts their life and privacy at risk. The real courage here is putting the needs and wants of others in front of their own.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Respect of Courage Everyone wants to be the person with enough guts to stand up to wrongs in an attempt to right them. Courage is perceived as a great thing in our society; so much so that the opposite of such, cowardice, is frowned upon. This is prevalent in the 1930’s as well. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates that courage is a trait Scout admires and seeks through Scout’s experiences, thoughts and actions.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird The main theme in To kill a mockingbird is courage and it is shown in many places throughout the book along with putting a huge impact on the book. There a three major places where courage is shown as in Chapter 1, when Dill dares Jem to run up to the Radleys house and hit it, when Atticus sticks up for Tom Robinson and defends him in court on the trial against Mayella and he sits outside the police station waiting for him, and once again near the end of the book courage is shown deeply when Boo Radley comes out of his house and fights off Bob Ewell. These are all very important scenes in the book where courage is shown and have an impact. In the first part of the book, in Chapter 1, courage is shown when Dill dares Jem to run up and slap the Radleys house. He says to him, “I won't say you ran out on a dare an’ I'll swap you The Grey Ghost if you just go up and touch the house.”…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Into To Kill a MockingBird Atticus Finch defines courage as. “It's when [people] know [they are] licked before [they] begin, but [they] begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” (Lee 149). This shows that courage is doing what is right even though you are going against everyone else, and is shown happening throughout real life in The Untold Story of Emmett Till, and Montgomery Boycott‘’. Courage intertwine through To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee, The Untold Story of Emmett Till filmed by Keith Beauchamp, and Montgomery Boycott by Coretta Scott King by doing the right thing even though you are going against everyone else.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Courage; bravery. Innocent; not guilty of a crime. Empathy; ability to understand and share the feelings of another. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book about a court case where a black man is accused of rape. This is based on a true case.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many people presume that courage is simply a person who accomplishes a grand feat rather than having the quality of mind that enables a person to face difficulty or danger without fear. However, true courage depends on the eyes of the beholder. Courage is many things. Slyly embodied in both reticent and vital characters, Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird and Reginald Rose in 12 Angry Men both create a broad representation of courage. In both works of literature, the idea of courage that is being conveyed is the ability to do something that one knows is right or gracious, even though it is extremely difficult.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people define courage as a man with a gun. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird we follow the characters Atticus Scout and Jem Finch. Through the book Jem figures it out the hard way and scout gets is kind of easy. Jem showed his courage by helping scout when ever she needed help. Scout shows courage by standing up for her dad when the kids in her school called him a nigger lover.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Boo Radley Courage Quotes

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ambrose Redmoon once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear.” This quote is expressing that courage is not the lack of fear; it is the triumph over it. A courageous person is not one who has no fear or worries. It is one who has fear but preserves through any situation instead of backing down. To Kill A mockingbird expresses that courage is an emotion that makes people push to go beyond their normal actions and strive for what they believe is right.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a story about two innocent children, Jem and Scout, growing up in Maycomb, a town that is accustomed to racism. However, To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a story about racism. It is also a novel about courage, integrity, and empathy. First, Harper Lee shows that courage is when people fight battles even when they know they might not win.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Standing up to a bully, trying something new, putting one’s life in danger to save another, standing up against prejudice, and facing a fear of public speaking. There are grand acts of courage, and then there are smaller courageous acts that can sometimes go unseen. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird explores different examples of courage through its characters. Mrs. Dubose, Atticus Finch, and Arthur Radley were all presented with opportunities to show courage.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Courage is Born Throughout It’s Difficulties By McKinley Miner What is courage? The dictionary defines courage as “ the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face a difficulty, danger, pain, without fear; bravery.” Throughout the entire novel of To Kill A Mockingbird there is one man who takes courage to a whole new level. Atticus Finch is a white man who stands up for a black man in a time period when most people wouldn 't have.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    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.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having the ability to do something that may frighten another person is a strong trait. Not just anybody can claim they have the courage to do something whether it's standing in front of class and reading or sticking up for a kid who is getting bullied. To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee consists of multiple moments where a character is being courageous, however Atticus Finch beholds the most courageous acts in the book. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and father to Jem and Scout, takes upon numerous acts of courage from shooting a mad dog to defending an African American male accused of rape during a time where cruel racism was common.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee gives many life themes that all are life lessons for the reader and Scout the main character. Throughout the book many themes are shown but two that really stick out to me were compassion and courage. These themes stick out because when reading about Scout growing up we see her develop into a more compassionate and courageous person in the way she acts and presents herself. Furthermore, these themes serve great life lessons for the reader and help them grow throughout the reading of the book.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays