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 '. The evidence boils down to you-did-I-didn 't. The jury couldn 't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson 's word against the Ewells, '" Atticus solemnly explains this to his brother. First of all, Atticus demonstrates courage when he undertakes the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Atticus knows he won 't win the case and like Mrs. Dubose in her battle against morphine, he is "licked" before he begins. Nevertheless, Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and that he must fight for him, since no one else will. Atticus 's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom with vigor and determination, giving it all he 's got with one mission in mind. He wants the people of …show more content…
In addition, Atticus went against his moral code and principles he had always upheld before, especially in the Tom Robinson trial. Now, Atticus is faced with the decision of abiding by the law or breaking it in order to do the right thing. He knew that incarcerating a man, as withdrawn and solitary as Arthur would have been unforgivable. Especially, after Arthur had performed a great deed by saving his children 's life. He knew that exposing him would be an awful way of repaying him; it would have been like "shooting a mockingbird." So, Atticus chose to protect Boo from the public eye rather than abide by the law and his "honest" ways he was so accustomed to follow.
In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes on the malignant impact of racism, a deeply rooted problem, from a different perspective and teaches readers what it truly means to be a good person as she brings to life one of the most virtuous characters in American literature-Atticus Finch. Told through the eyes of a young child, readers learn about the heavy prejudice embedded in the people of Maycomb County and the loss of innocence that is brought upon the kids as a racial conflict spurs a series of significant events in their quiet town. Taken place during the early years of the Great Depression, Maycomb must face its biggest problem-racism. Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends this case and ultimately brings a
In the jury during the case¨’Atticus was showing the jury that Tome had nothing to hide¨(Lee 225). This supports the claim because Atticus is truly fighting for Tom. He was doing everything possible to prove that Tom did nothing wrong. Throughout this paragraph Atticus proved to the people in the jury that he was not scared of what they though of him. Atticus is being courageous with being a stong and brave person to defend poor insist Tom
Atticus was a great man. He was kind, caring, respectful, well thought of, level headed, and anything and everything that a good lawyer and father should be. He is one too just wants what 's right, which is why he did his best to defend Tom, when the case shouldn 't have been given to him but a low man who just finished the bar Judge taylor gave him the case because he knew he would give it his all to bring out the truth. He also sees everyone as equals and does not believe that the whites are any better than the blacks. Attics makes points toward the jury that in any other place or time would have been ruled in Toms being not guilty but because of the segregation in the deep south of maycomb the jury had their mind made up before tom even
It take a lot of courage Out of all the people in Maycomb, Atticus shows the most courage. In a small county call Maycomb county, the county is in a bit of trouble because of a case. A father convicted a man of “raping” his daughter.
He is a kind man that doesn’t believe in using violence and believes that everyone should be treated equally. That is another reason why he chose to defend Tom Robinson. Atticus thought that Tom deserved a fair trial, and even though he knew that they probably weren’t going to win the case, he wanted to try for the sake of Tom and his family. “‘If you shouldn’t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it?’ ‘For a number of reasons,’ said Atticus.
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.
Because he is grounded in principles reflected in the Golden Rule, it also makes sense for Atticus to take a stand and defend Tom Robinson because he wishes to inculcate such virtues in his children, knowing that his actions will serve to be their apotheosis of an ethical person, both as their father and as a lawyer. Atticus knows that his actions will be Jem and Scout’s paragon of an ethical person, and although defending Tom coincides with his own moral beliefs, it also coincides with the example he wishes to set for his children. He wants them to understand the importance of taking a stand in a peaceful way, and wishes to instill these principles in them, knowing that their involvement in Tom Robinson’s court case will be the determinant
Austin Crim Russell Honors English 15 March 2023 Courage When people think of the word courage they usually think of a knight or a king, they do not consider themselves courageous. When courage is needed some people can step up when no one else will, that is courage. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the main characters Atticus Finch shows great courage to his children and his town when he does the stuff no one else can or will do.
“Who beat you up? Tom Robinson or your father. No answer. ’’(251) Even though Atticus knew right when he accepted the case he knew it was going to be trouble but he didn’t want it to be an unfair trial.
Later, Mrs. Maudie explained that Atticus is not prideful of his talents, but is “civilized in his heart”(130). This shows that weaponry and talent would not be the first words Atticus would think when defining courage when explaining his kids the real definition of it. Another example that talks about courage involves the Finch’s old and ill tempered
He had compassion in his heart and the thought of equality in his mind. He understood when people needed help but could not pay for it, and he knew that “it takes a long time sometimes…that you all’d ride [the harsh times] out together [SIC]” (205-206). He was troubled by the narrow- mindedness and prejudice of the townspeople. He knew, sadly, that the people in the court would automatically assume “that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women” (273). Atticus felt that he needed to uphold the justice.
Another thing Atticus presumes is that the courts are unreliable and completely based on whether the people like the person or not. Not whether they are innocent or guilty, but rather beliefs that are discriminate. “I’m not idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system- that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines courage as the ability to do something that frightens one. Many characters in Harper Lee’s mid 20th century novel To Kill a Mockingbird display courage in numerous ways. One character however, jumps out. When first reading the book, most people would say that courage is displayed by those like Jem, Scout, Tom, or Atticus.
Atticus is faced with many threats along the way and is shunned in the community for defending a man of such a heinous crime. During the trial Atticus makes many strong arguments and it is plainly
The evidence boils down to you-did-I-didn 't. The jury couldn 't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson 's word against the Ewells, '" Atticus solemnly explains this to his brother. First of all, Atticus demonstrates courage when he undertakes the task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape. Atticus knows he won 't win the case and like Mrs. Dubose in her battle against morphine, he is "licked" before he begins. Nevertheless, Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and that he must fight for him, since no one else will.