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Courage is characterized as mental or moral strength to surpass notions of fear. As demonstrated by Atticus Finch and Mrs Dubose in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the development of courage gives the character’s strength and courage to hold their heads high, while fearing none. Harper Lee depicts the theme of courage incalculable amount of times, detailing courage as “ when you know you’re licked before you being, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” (Chapter 11, Page 124) All of the characters have an alternate kind of perspective of what courage is exactly, which will be examined in depth.…
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Atticus defends his client Tom Robinson with all his heart, despite Tom being black. Although slavery has long since become abolished, in Maycomb, whites still discriminate against blacks, but Atticus has a different outlook on men. He defends Tom the way he should... fairly. Scout, Atticus' daughter, does not understand why someone would falsely accuse an innocent person. Atticus then explains to her that "... You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view..."(Lee 30). Explaining that there has to be a reason for everything, even if it was considered unjustified.…
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"'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"'(112).Words of Atticus, from Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird. A story narrated by Scout, Atticus' daughter, about the events that occurred in a small southern town during the great depression. The racism abounded in this town, like in every other at the time, but something unexpected happened when a girl accused a black man of raping her. Nobody imagined that with the help of the enormous courage of Tom Robinson (the accused) and Atticus Finch (his lawyer),the whole town would learn a great life lesson. Atticus and…
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In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch shows courage by standing up for his beliefs and by respecting values that he does not share.…
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Courage is when someone takes pride in what they believe in even if they are alone. In the novel To Kill Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch demonstrates the greatest amount of courage. Atticus took on the rape case of Mayella Ewell defending an african american man Tom Robinson, knowing what the outcome would be.…
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Atticus Finch is one of the major characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird written in 1960. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb, the representative of Alabama in the State Legislator and the father of Scout and Jeremy Finch. The major themes and ideas Lee emphasizes in the novel are social inequality and intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery are represented in one way or another through this character. Atticus Finch is a man of principles who is consistent in his views and deeds throughout the novel. He has an arguable type of personality because many people back then would call him ignorant, but he still fought against his doubters. Although he is criticized and mocked by many characters in the novel for his tolerant attitude…
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Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee publicized courage as a theme, allowing the reader to unquestionably see Atticus, Scout and Jem’s father, as the hero and moral voice in the book. Living in a quaint, small, and prejudice town Atticus faced many challenges that permitted him to show his courage and heroism. Atticus strived to understand people before he judged them, he stood up for Tom Robinson, and he taught his kids to fight the evil with their smarts rather than physical violence.…
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Atticus shows that his words are not empty, and he practices what he has taught his children. Atticus conveys empathy for the minorities around him, such as the Ewell family and the Negroes. Tom Robinson, a black man, is being represented in court by Atticus. Atticus empathizes for Tom who is wrongly accused of taking advantage of Mayella Ewell, a poor white women, and tries his hardest to win the case for Tom. After losing the trial and humiliating the Ewells in the process, Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, spits in Atticus’ face and threatens to get even with him. Atticus, feeling sorry for Mayella, takes this incident and uses it as a lesson of empathy for his children. Atticus says, “ Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed every thread of credibility at that trial, if he he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always do. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there” (292-293). The lesson of empathy is supported largely through Atticus, and his ways with Tom and the Ewells. To sum up, Atticus’ inspirational experiences convey greatly to his children, and help to better them for the rest of the…
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Atticus is a man of morals, and he will not allow other people’s opinions to alter his morals. Even though Atticus clearly proves that Tom is innocent, Atticus “could [not] in truth say that [they] had more than a good chance” of winning the case (Lee 242). While Atticus goes to the jail on the night of Tom’s moving, Atticus knows he risks being hurt by the lynch mob. It is solely courage that takes Atticus to the jail even if it means risking danger upon himself. This mob quickly disperses with the help of Scout Finch. Although Atticus’ courage will not show immediate change, his change is more long term. Maycomb will not accept African Americans as equals overnight, but through the brave actions of Atticus this change is not completely out of…
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In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, there is an array of countless problems that must be faced by the citizens of Maycomb. How did they respond? After all, as the town was told, it had nothing to fear but fear itself. At least the more intelligent responded courageously. Relentless determination and perseverance were the only option to keep everything together. One character who shows this is Atticus, who stands up for African Americans inside and outside of court. Even though he’s called names and threatened, he supports Tom and promotes equality. In this novel, courage is defined as standing up for what you believe in. Lee tries to convey the point that readers can improve society using courage. Atticus has real courage because he stands up for equality when he defends Tom, faces danger to protect others, and doesn’t stop when the town’s residents insult him.…
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Atticus shows courage throughout the novel, especially when he defends Tom Robinson. Atticus defends Tom Robinson as well as he can even though he knows the consequences will be substantial. Atticus is appointed to defend a black man in court whom has been accused of raping a white woman. “ ‘If you shouldn’t be defendin’ him, then why are you doin’ it for?’ ‘For a number of reasons,’ “ (Lee, 100). The novel is set in the 1930’s during the great depression. Back then there was still a massive amount of…
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Harper Lee lucidly epitomizes the matter pertaining to this theme in her gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee, with southern drama, scathingly condemns racial prejudice through the story of a wrongfully accused black man. However, she also affirms the inherent goodness in human kindness through the story of the protagonist, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. In this story, Atticus benefits from the racist Maycomb jury, who was admired and respected, ever since the discovery of the wrongdoings of the jury. Atticus, a small town lawyer, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongfully accused for raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. He does this despite being disparaged by the racist Maycomb community. Even though his actions may cause turmoil to him and his family, he continues to benefit and act upon the wrongdoings of the Maycomb community by defending an underrepresented man. Through this decision, scout learns how to…
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Have you ever caught yourself reading a book and wondering what a certain character portrays? While reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the topic of courage sprang upon the discussion. Courage to Atticus FInch is “When you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Although facing massive struggles, Atticus displays the most courage throughout the book, when he faces obstacles that stand in his way in order to set the correct examples for his children.…
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Moral courage is when one has the moral strength to stand up for what he or she believes to be right. This type of courage is best shown by Atticus; a lawyer and the father of both Scout and Jem. After Christmas, Scout overhears Atticus talking to her uncle Jack about the upcoming trial. “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand,” Atticus explains to Jack (Lee 117). Atticus understands that he will lose the Tom Robison case simply because people are prejudiced and racist. Furthermore Atticus knows that the existing prejudice and racism in his community will cause the people to judge him and his family. Despite the social consequences Atticus decides to ignore the opinions of other and to do what he knows to be right. He explains the reasoning behind his choice when Jem and Scout ask him why he would defend Tom when everyone else says that it is wrong. He tells them that “before [he] can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself” (Lee 140). Atticus realises that his own moral values are more important that the opinions of others. Atticus defends Tom because he knows that it is the right thing to do, and he has the moral courage to deal with the…
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Most of the characters in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", written by Harper Lee, show the theme of courage in different ways. Courage is a difficult virtue for people to emulate in real life. Some believe that courage is when people have strong bodies and hearts. Others would say it is when people tell the truth directly instead of avoiding it. In this novel, Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose , and Boo Radley are similar in their courageous attitudes by taking multiple risks to stand up for innocent people while they are different in how they demonstrate their courage ; Atticus Finch announces his courage when he stands for what he believes…
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