...Harper Lee characterizes Atticus Finch as a man who symbolizes courage. Atticus also believes the saying, “you never really know a man until you walk in his shoes.”(Lee, 30) Courage is defined as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, or pain without fear. Atticus shows courage throughout this novel. One of his biggest acts of courage is when Tom Robinson is on trial. The whole jury is made up of white men, and back in the 1930’s, everyone didn’t want anything to do with blacks. Atticus defends Tom Robinson in his trial, which it was unheard of hearing a white man stand up for and protect a black man. Atticus knew that this would ruin his reputation with everyone, and noone would have respect...
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...buses and other public places. In Harper Lee’s best seller To Kill a Mockingbird, segregation is coupled with injustice in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Courage is constantly shown to be the best way to combat injustice. Characters Atticus Finch, Boo Radley and Link Deas display courage during the difficult times in Maycomb Alabama. Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson even when failure is inevitable so he can live up to his personal morals. Atticus is the most courageous character in To Kill a Mockingbird because he is aware of the repercussions of this trial and the dangerous impact it could potentially have. Tom Robinson is a black male wrongfully...
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...In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the presence of courage is illustrated throughout the whole book. Courage, the ability to do something that frightens one. It takes a strong, vigorous and optimistic person to illustrate courage. In this case, the main character, Scout, displays perfect examples of courage throughout the entire novel. Scout does it while she herself does not notice. Like when stands up to an angry racist mob from lynching Tom Robinson, a “negro” accused of raping a white woman. Not everyone would have enough determination to walk up to a group of people who are about to kill someone. Before knowing why Scout stood up for Tom and have the guts to do so. The reader learns in the beginning of the story, how Atticus teaches Scout that doing the right thing doesn’t always mean going along with everyone else. Referencing of being your true self and have “pride” of yourself instead of being in “vain” (Austen)....
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...climb into his skin and walk around in it.” These are the words that were spoken by Atticus Finch when he was talking to scout about people and perspectives. Atticus Finch is a very simplistic person in the story To Kill A MockingBird by, Harper Lee. Atticus is a very quite person and he expresses this by not being too brash and taking insults but also showing he's the bigger man by not fighting with his fists but with his own words. What i want to express is the way Atticus is calm, nice, smart, shows courage, is compassionate, and above all tolerant of other people and races. Atticus Finch is one of the protagonist in the story To Kill a Mockingbird and is a well rounded character....
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...Atticus defines courage as “When you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”( Lee 128). He defines his own definition by defending the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson was accused of a serious crime he did not commit. But because of the color of his skin, there was really no hope for him at all. Atticus was appointed to be his lawyer, knowing that he probably was not going to win this case, even though he proved to the court that Tom was not guilty. But it took him a lot of strength and courage to not lose hope and still defend him when no one else believed in him. Atticus tried his best for this case, even though he knew from the beginning he was not going to win; he did it anyway because he knew it was the right thing to do....
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...Atticus...the Brave Did you know that courage is evoked when something frightens someone? Atticus shows courage throughout the novel in the midst of his fears. Thus being, a single father, a lawyer for a black man, and keeping everyone safe. In fact, Atticus wasn’t the only person who displayed courage. Despite the courageous events made by the other characters in the novel, Atticus still exhibits the most types of courage. Atticus demonstrates moral courage when defending Tom Robinson’s case. In chapter nine, Atticus explains to Scout why he is defending Tom, “For a number of reasons,’ said Atticus. ‘The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again… Scout simply by the nature of work every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess.” Atticus was appointed by the judge to defend Tom Robinson. Although Atticus did not want to do it, he gave Tom Robinson the fairest trail he could. Atticus is one of the best effort to defend Tom. He shows moral courage with this example...
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...In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, a character that shows true courage during the trial is Atticus Finch, lawyer and loving father to Jem and Scout. True courage is being able to defend and fight for something despite the circumstances.Numerous times Atticus shows courage in the story which all relates to the theme, having to be faced with the harsh reality of the world which ruins your innocence. Atticus Finch stays strong and practical during the trial, defending Tom Robinson with his life. Atticus’s effort during the trial shows his courage because, despite it being tricky to get the judge and people of the racist South to side with Tom Robinson, compared to Mayella, who claims to be the victim. Atticus does not give up and continues to fight for Tom Robinson’s justice. Atticus shows courage through logical...
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...Atticus Finch fights the good fight, no matter the effect it has on him. Atticus is a respectful and compassionate man and he is the word courage and sees everyone equal. Within To Kill a Mockingbird there are some very instinctive quotes that really shine out to show what he was meant to be in the story. By sharing five quotes revolving around Atticus the author shows that he takes pride in his work and he stands for what he believes in and doesn't know how to give in. Speaking of fighting the good fight, one of the quotes that shines brightly on how much he cares about other people is when he says, "This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home." By this quote the author wants you to know that he does not mean to offend or take part in any wrongdoing against another person. He shows that in order to get what you want you sometimes have to go against the ones on your side, but for the right reasons and to keep respect. This quote also shows how brave he is, not a lot of people would go against the people of their own home town, but he does not care as long as it's for the right thing. A very motivating quote he speaks in...
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...their lives to protect others. There are always people who show this kind of courage during harder times. Challenging times brings out the best in certain people. As Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird illustrates, when times are dark and people behave with injustice, others step forward and show tremendous courage. Although Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s is a racist town, some characters such as Atticus...
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...Standing by ones morals and acting against ones fears represents true courage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, true courage can be shown through moral courage, mental courage, and physical courage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, standing up for what one believes in shows moral courage. Firstly, Atticus defending Tom Robinson even when he knew he would lose shows moral courage. Atticus is a well-known and respected figure in Maycomb. Choosing to defend a...
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...How symbolism can help you better understand To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism to reveal an overall theme of human dignity. Maycomb County is a typical sleepy southern town that is blinded by the disease of racism. An innocent black man becomes a victim of the disease when he is accused of rapeing a white woman. Firstly the symbols Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly show the important theme of maturation. Furthermore the symbols Tim Johnson and the snowman highlight a theme of destroying racism. Lastly one-shot Finch and the perfect white waxy camellia symbolize true courage. Harper Lee uses Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly as symbols to convey a theme of maturation. Jem and Scout where in the Radley’s backyard trying to get a look at Boo Radley when Jem see’s a shadow the children immediately flee form the house. As the children were running through the collards as they hear the roar of a shotgun. As Jem and Scout are fleeing the scene Jem’s pants gets caught in the fence and he has to leave it in their backyard if he wants to survive. Later that night he says how he needs to go back and retrieve his pants not for him but for Atticus, “‘Atticus ain’t never whipped me ever since I can remember, and I wanta keep it that way.’” (Lee 75). He goes back to get his pants to keep his relation shit with Atticus. There is a evident theme maturation in Jem at this point, from when he thought turtles could not feel, too now when he is showing...
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...Gentlemen The first step to being a gentleman is of course showing respect. Or is it courage? Or education? Although Jem Finch may think that most of the men that live in Maycomb are gentlemen, Atticus Finch says otherwise. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem characterizes himself along with his father as being true gentlemen. What makes up a gentleman? One might ask this question when trying to find out what the true definition of the word is. If one were to look up gentlemen in the dictionary the definition would be: a man from a good family; a well-bread male, but if Atticus Finch were to define the word the definition would be completely different. Atticus believes that to be a true gentleman...
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... Discuss the various ways in which Harper Lee explores the concept of courage in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. One of the central issues in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is the idea of courage and the very different ways it can be displayed. As each character face their own journeys with courage, not only does the reader learn that even the smallest, most subtle acts of courage make a difference, but Scout and Jem’s idea of true courage is challenged as their minds mature and develop. Atticus and Mrs Dubose play a large part in this for Jem, as he distinguishes the difference between physical courage and emotional courage; while the court case of Tom Robinson teaches Scout how moral courage is sometimes hard to find in Maycomb, however it is the most important type of courage to have. Firstly, during the orientation of the novel Scout and Jem both have an attitude that the only form of courage is physical; as in being able to use a gun or win a fight. Jem believes that Atticus is less of other fathers as ‘He did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the livingroom and read’ – in short, believing Atticus was lacking courage. Atticus somewhat reaches his son’s expectations when he shoots a feral dog, which is shocking to the children who are left in awe of their father’s hidden talent. Overall Atticus is a very courageous man in many ways, and this event is a major milestone...
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...To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus is a kind person who believes everyone should get a chance even if it could hurt him and his family. To kill a mockingbird is about the life of a little girl named scout and how her father is a lawyer that helped a black man in court. They were made fun of and hurt but still got through.Atticus should take a stand because he has courage and he is kind. The first reason is Atticus has courage for standing up for Tom Robinson even though he will be made fun of. “ In Maycomb grown men stood outside in the front yard for only two reasons death and politics. Jem and I went to the front door, But Atticus called Go back in the house”(Lee 193). This shows that Atticus stood up to Heck Tate and men who wanted to take Tom back to the county jail. Atticus also protected his kids. Atticus has reasons for taking up for Tom. “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”(Lee 100). This shows Atticus took this case...
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...Lee, the message of courage is significant. This is due to the many characters that express courage in the novel. The courage that they displayed is different compared to the dictionary definition. This courage gave them their strength and deepened their self-understanding as the novel progresses. The characters Atticus Finch and Jeremy Finch demonstrated their courage in the novel which resulted in the explanation of the message about real courage. Atticus Finch proved to be a noticeably courageous character in the novel. One apparently reason was because he accepted the appointment to the case of Tom Robinson, a black man. It took courage for Atticus to do the right thing, despite knowing that he...
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