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Courage is defined as "that quality of mind or spirit enabling one
to meet danger or opposition with fearlessness." 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.” (124) No matter how one defines it,
Harper Lee clearly portrays the theme of courage in her novel, To Kill
A Mockingbird. It is one of the most predominant themes and is shown in
many of the characters because what is a hero if they are not
courageous? One likes to think of a hero, as strong, brave, meeting all
challenges head on. All of the characters have a different view as to
what courage is, and they all show it a different way; however, they do
show courage in their everyday lives. Younger characters, like Jem and
Scout, see the physical aspect of it, whereas Atticus believes this to
be an extremely weak form of courage. He believes in the mental quality
of courage; he admires Mrs Dubose for her attempt to rid herself from
some of the evil that still grasped at her life as she died.
For a younger character, like Scout, courage is most often
associated with a physical act that is usually dangerous. It is hard
for young children like that to realize that greater courage can be
shown in other aspects of life. Scout sees an example of courage in her
father when he shoots the mad dog. Although Atticus does not think of
it as very courageous, Jem and Scout are proud of their father and the
courage he showed in the dangerous situation. Atticus knows that the
dog did not stand a chance; it was delirious so therefore could not
think straight. In addition, he was holding a gun; the odds were
stacked too highly on his side for his liking. He was not trying to
prove a point, he was merely fulfilling his civic duty, yet they were
still impressed.
Later on in the story, Jem and Scout encounter the vindictive Mrs.
Dubose who often shouts out racism directed at the passing children
because of Atticus’ deeds. At one point she proclaimed, "Your father's
no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (113) When she
blatantly made Atticus an object of ridicule like that, Jem decided
that the best way to settle things was to ruin Mrs. Dubose's camellias.
Since he could not attack Mrs Dubose directly, Jem decided to go for
something close to her. He is committing a physical act of retaliation,
which led to her suffering mental pain yet again. It was a cowardly
act, for he dared not step up and confront her, telling Mrs Dubose why
and what his problems were. After Atticus heard about this stunt, Jem
was made to read to her every afternoon for a month. He now needed
mental valour, and he did find it more difficult to source this than
the physical bravery he was used to displaying. This is made apparent
by him refusing to walk past her house alone, and because Jem was at
first terrified of going to see her.
Mrs. Dubose was a very sick woman, and had used morphine to ease her
pain. It was her goal to leave the world “beholden to nothing and
nobody.” (120) She displayed what Atticus refers to as “real courage.”
(121) She showed “real courage” because she does not have the luxury of
standing there with a gun pointed at her addiction. One single attempt
could not free her from the addiction. Rather, it was a multiple stage
process over an extended period of time. This was far more difficult
because where in a single act, the single moment might be more
difficult, whereas, over a longer time-span, her brain repeatedly told
her that she was a doomed, so why suffer the agony? It was shear
determination and “real courage” that allowed her to accomplish her
goal. It was not until after she died that Atticus explained to Jem and
Scout how courageous the woman was because she knew she was dying but
was still determined to die free of the morphine. She fought against
great odds, even though she knew that she would surely die.
"Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of
whether you win or lose. Atticus Finch defines "real courage" and
demonstrates it several times throughout the novel, in addition to the
lessons that he teaches his children. The largest and most important
example would be the Trial of Tom Robinson. When Atticus took the case,
he went against Maycomb, a generally prejudiced town, in order to
defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object
of ridicule and that no one would forgive him for believing in a black
man's word rather than a white man's. Even his own sister expresses
disapproval of his decision, practically telling him he was bringing
disgrace on the family. Nevertheless, no matter how much his reputation
suffered, he did not change his mind. Standing up for his morals and
ethics was more important than what people thought about him. Atticus
knows he will not win the case and like Mrs. Dubose in her battle
against morphine, he is "licked" (121) before he begins.
Atticus's strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to
defend Tom Robinson with determination, and giving it all he has. He
shows this when he says, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years
before we started is no reason for us not to try and win.” (80) He says
this to Scout after she comes home from school angry at Cecil Jacobs
for making fun of Atticus in the schoolyard. Atticus tells her to fight
with her head instead of her fists. He wants the people of Maycomb to
hear the truth about Tom, "That boy may go to the chair, but he's not
going till the truth's told.” (146) Atticus later shows bravery when he
goes to the jailhouse to protect Tom from a mob. Without thinking
twice, he rushed to Tom's aid. He went willingly, knowing that if a mob
did form he would be greatly outnumbered and would easily be beaten.
Still, he put Tom's well being ahead of his own welfare.
While serving justice, Atticus also showed great courage. For
example, he did not go along with Heck Tate when he told a lie about
what really happened the night Bob Ewell was found stabbed to death.
Atticus put his life and career in the line because he knew that, as an
officer of the court, withholding information from an investigation
could have gotten Mr Tate thrown in jail. Nonetheless, like many times
before, doing what was right and fair prevailed in Atticus's way of
thinking. In addition, Atticus went against his moral code and
principles he had always upheld before, when 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 like Arthur would have been
unforgivable, especially after Arthur had performed a great deed by
saving his children's lives. He knew that exposing him would be an
awful way of repaying him; it would have been like "shooting a
mockingbird.” Therefore, Atticus chose to protect Boo from the public
eye rather than abide by the law and his "honest" judicial ways he was
so accustomed to follow. Sometimes it takes even more courage to set a
new level of morals than to stay in one’s comfort zone. (238-242)
In conclusion, Atticus shows praiseworthy courage and behaviour in
many instances throughout the story, not by fighting or killing, but by
standing up for what he believed in a civilized and determined way. His
strongest motivation, however, were his kids. He wants to be a good
example for his kids and instill in them a strong sense of moral
values. One time Scout asks him why he had taken a case he knew he was
not going to win and he responded by saying, "For a number of reasons.
The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I
couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell
you or Jem not to do something again.” (75) In other words, he would
not have been able to talk to his kids about justice and standing up
for what one believes when he himself had not stood for what he
believed in. He wants to know that there is no reason for him to hang
his head in shame and shy away when he is walking down the streets.
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