To children like Jem and Scout Finch, being courageous is completing a daredevil like task to impress others; however, as they grow up they learn what true courage is as they face situations where their courage is tested. They also witness an obstacle Atticus Finch overcomes that enhances their definition of courage. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee distinguishes foolishness from real acts of courage through the experiences of Jem, Scout, and Atticus Finch. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout believe courage is getting close to Boo Radley, a character whom has a reputation of stabbing his father in the leg with a pair of scissors and committing all of the small crimes in Maycomb. While Jem and Scout’s friend Dill …show more content…
Up until this trial, Scout and Jem have only partially understood what true courage is. They have not fully understood it until their father Atticus takes on a trial to defend a black man. Atticus tells Scout why he takes on the trial when he explains, “Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess. You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down” (Lee 86-87). In a town where Atticus will be looked down upon for defending a black man, he still defends him because he knows it is what he has to do. This teaches Scout to do what she thinks is right even if she will be made fun of. Scout learns from Atticus that even if she knows that she is not going to be successful she still needs to have the courage to stand up for her beliefs when Atticus says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 128). Atticus teaches Scout that true courage is standing up for what you believe in no matter the consequence. Even though Atticus knew he was going to lose the case with Tom Robinson, he was able to do it because he knew it was the right thing to do and it needed to be done. Throughout the novel, courage is portrayed through various instances that affect each of the characters. Scout and Jem witness these instances and mature because of it. Their development of the meaning of courage changes from childish dares to standing up for others even if that means standing alone. The trials that Jem, Scout, and
In To Kill A Mockingbird novel, Scout learns what does courage mean. When Atticus signs to speak for Tom Robinson, both Scout and Jem acted peacefully with racial invectives and offensive slurs by the townspeople. As mentioned before, Atticus teaches Scout that doing the right thing does not always mean going along with everyone else. Furthermore, Atticus tries to teach Scout how important it is to look at things from the other person's perspective . As the novel starts to end , Scout is able put herself in Boo Radley's shoes, the person she is scared of the most throughout the novel.
6/24, Chapter One: As the book begins, the readers are introduced to Scout, and her knowledge of Maycomb. I noticed how Scout’s narration sounded; she is telling the story as an adult but from a five year old’s point of view during the book, but her narrative included complex words such as “imprudent” (5) and “domiciled” (10), which is unlike what a child would say. Harper Lee uses the unique narration so that Scout would be able to provide background and context to Maycomb, but also so that readers would be able to see how Scout reacted and felt about the events in the book, and how it impacted her life growing up. Scout also used description and imagery as she told the story, which I found intriguing, since children don’t usually care for description and see things simplistically.
He shows his children many examples of courage such as when he shares Mrs. Dubose's determination to die without being on Morphine. These lessons stick with Scout and her brother Jem. Specifically Jem. When Jem sees his sister getting attacked, he risks his life to save her. Jem uses courage he learned from his father and To Kill A Mockingbird can teach students reading it to use courage as
Courage is not strength or skill, it’s simply standing up for what you believe in and what is right. This is the theme that was enrolled after Jem destroys Mrs.Dubose’s camellias and after she died in chapter 11. This passage also reveals Jem’s coming of age moment. After using conflict, symbolism, and point of view, Harper Lee was able to connect the theme with Jems coming of age moment.
As Atticus is talking to Scout, he remarks that “every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess” (Lee 101). Atticus knows that accepting the opportunity to defend Tom Robinson in court is dangerous because it will put him and his family in an unforgiving situation. Furthermore, Atticus expresses courage when he frequently states, “it's not time to worry yet” (Lee 139).
Atticus honestly tried his best to win the case for Tom, but the town had already made their decision when they first heard of the case. It took incredible courage to defend a black man in the 1930s. He tells Scout “ Simply because we are licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” Atticus also displayed courage when he stood in front of the jail and protected Tom. He knew a mob of drunk countrymen would try to pull something and he was right.
The Most Courageous Character The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one, or strength in the face of pain or grief. People all over the world perform countless acts of courage every single day. Many characters in Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird portray these courageous traits also. Many of them performed acts that took great courage to do.
Scout when her classmates are making fun of Atticus for defending a black man , and Jem when he believed Nathan Radley when he cemented the tree because it was “ill”. Scout hears her classmates saying terrible things about Atticus because he's defending a black man, but she doesn't see the wrong in what her father is doing. Atticus explains to her that it's not really a bad thing, but some people see it that way. Scout is too young to understand prejudice and injustice. Atticus tries to preserve this innocence by raising her to believe that there is nothing wrong with defending a black man.
The central idea of To Kill A Mockingbird is Bravery. A quote used in the story that Harper Lee uses to show this central idea is “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (30/34). This quote shows how some people can be brave. Many of the characters in the story were brave but the three i'm going to focus on are Atticus, Jem, and Arthur also known as “Boo”. Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout was very brave throughout the story.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Courage "Courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee 's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel. "The only thing we 've got is a black man 's word against the Ewells '.
While defending black man Tom Robison, Attics teach scout an jem the importance of standing up for what you believe. When Attics took on the case for Tom Robison he knew that when fighting for Tom there was little chance but that didn’t stop him from moving forward. So he pressed on and what he thought was right. He believed that he could make a difference in the way blacks were proceuted. More over this teaches us that we need to speak and stand up for what we believe and also for what is right even if it means being unpopular or people turning against
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Calpurnia, and Atticus stand out when courage comes to mind. These characters show courage in many unique ways with different situations. In the early 1930s, in the deep south, racial discrimination was a huge conflict, for example, the Jim Crows Laws were in play, and it legalized segregation between blacks and whites. Courage isn’t always shown in situations, but simply throughout growing up.
"Jem, I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. " This insightful statement was told by Atticus Finch to his son, Jem Finch. Many people in Maycomb had to deal with racism, hatred, and discrimination because of their skin color or because of the court case.
"(Lee 221). This is an example of how Atticus shows courage because it takes a lot so courage to show kindness to a man that has accused an innocent man and that spits in your face. Also Atticus even teaches courage to his children so that it can be passed down for
Scout deciphers the true meaning of courage. Atticus often says, “It's not time to worry yet.”, as a way to calm Scout down. Atticus plays a substantial part in Scout's growth in courage. Always having a trusted loved one to fall back on and trust is extremely important for Scout’s growth as an individual, which shows as she encounters new frightening and complex situations. The support Atticus shows for Scout shows how much he cares for her, thus aiding her in becoming a courageous young woman.