To Kill a Mockingbird Courage

To Kill a Mockingbird Courage

  • Submitted By: maxwei6
  • Date Submitted: 10/05/2014 6:02 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 985
  • Page: 4

TKAM
Courage. When someone speaks that word, helping man when no one else will is not the first thing that comes to mind. But in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, that is the definition of courage. In this novel, some key events that connect with this idea are when Atticus defends the neighborhood by shooting the dog, reaching out to Mrs. Dubose when no one else would, and most of all, defending a defenseless man in court. Others in this novel may disagree with this and say these actions are not courageous. They would say that a real courageous man will stand up to a person who wants to fight him or fight someone who called them a name. They think this is courage because they live in a world where physical strength triumphs and outward shows of strength make people think you are very courageous. Atticus, a very courageous character, will define courage as not only having strength and not let others disapprobation get you down, but also as being a good person by helping and teaching others, persevering and being able to make justified decisions. Atticus’s definition of courage is very strong. His definition is less excluding, more ethical, and keeps one a rational and kind person to the core.
Atticus has different values for courageous people than most people do. He values not giving up and fighting for what’s right, not what society says is right. He follows his code to the bone and very rarely leaves it. According to his values, Mrs. Dubose and Miss Maudie are people who have shown real courage. Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict and she has tried very hard to get off the drug. Atticus says, “She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did.”(127). She tried and never gave up trying to get off morphine even when she was in death’s clutches. And it paid off. Atticus thought she was one of the most courageous people in the novel and even looked up to her. Miss Maudie also fits into Atticus’s mold of being courageous but not...

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