Theme of Courage in To Kill A Mockingbird (Book Analysis)

People think that courageous people fight lions and crocodiles, jump out of planes, and play with snakes when all that brave people do is not give in under pressure. “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." Atticus Finch. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fantastic storey told by a young girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. TKAM is a story about the leadership and courage displayed by various characters as they face various challenges throughout the book. Jeremy “Jem” Finch is a person, in To Kill A Mockingbird, that shows and develops his physical courage. Jem Finch masters and channels his fear into the problems he faces. He displays this courage by resisting and standing up to the frightening challenges that are set up before him. Harper Lee suggests courage can be established in changing circumstances, because those who develop courage can use that quality to protect themselves and others who cannot. Consequently, being courageous will lead to endangerment of themselves and others.

Initially, Jem conquers his fear by not giving in to a risky challange given by Dill to knock on a neigbours door. Jem views courage as a man who uses a gun in any given situation. Now he knows real courage is when you follow something through, even if what is asked of him is undesirable. Dill dared Jem to run up to Boo Radley's house and tap the door, a feat none of the children in Maycomb have done before. "Touch the house, that all?" (pg. 18). Jem considered Dill's challenge and agreed to the quest. He agreed because he wanted to prove that he was courageous person. That was brave of him because, according to rumours, Boo Radley is a sinful, unsightly creature who commits petty crimes at night and eats raw animals, so what Jem did was a dangerous task. Jem is a child that hardly refuses any dare thrown at him which further hints that Jem is a fearless adolescent. Conversely, others might say Jem is a reckless person who does things impulsively, however, that is false. Jem is a mature person who thinks ahead of things and sorts out the task in his head. He ponders about the choice he is going to make before acting upon them. “Jem thought about it for three days.” said Scout. Jem is a critical thinker who will look at the effects of an action before he makes a decision about it. Particularly, this is how Jem proves himself to be a brave boy to Dill and Scout. Jem performs the dare in order to prove something to Dill and Scout which is to say that he will not back down from a challenge no matter how scary or risky it is. He proves that someone as scary as Boo Radley, a man that supposedly eats raw squirrels and cats for dinner, will not stop him from executing the challenges thrown at him. Despite changing circumstances, Jem grows his courage by knocking on the door of Boo Radley, a man who supposedly feasts on raw animals. Jem develops his courage by facing difficult and wavering oppositions that further prompts him to try and protect his loved one from a dangerous character.

Therefore, the second time Jem displays courage occurs at Maycomb jail, where Atticus was staying when he met the mobsters. Jem went out with Scout and Dill, the evening before the trial, to see where Atticus went. Atticus rarely uses his car, so when he did use it Jem had a strange feeling in his gut. That feeling prompted him to follow Atticus to the jail. At the jail, a group of mobsters came with the intent of harming Tom Robinson. However, Atticus was at the jail to protect Tom from any harm the mobsters were trying to inflict on him. Atticus being at the jail when the mobsters arrived was enough to tell Jem that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, that didn't stop him from running to Atticus and attempting to defend him from the criminals before him. “ ‘Go home, I said’, insisted Atticus. Jem shook his head”. Atticus prompts Jem to leave the jail and return home with Scout and Dill, which he sternly refuses to do. Jem disobeys Atticus because he has analyzed the situation and knows that Atticus is in immediate danger. He knew the mobsters were going to attack Atticus to get their hands on Tom Robinson. Jem would rather disobey Atticus than leave him with criminals with killing intent in their eyes. Jem is going out of his comfort zone by disobeying Atticus so that he can stand up for him, and protect him. Notably, Jem is trying to be like his father, a courageous, intelligent, and righteous person. He tries to show these qualities by proving to the mobsters that they need to get through him before harming Atticus. He shows courage by standing up to Atticus to protect him from the dangers the mobsters will inflict on him. Despite the mobsters' threats, Jem defended Atticus passionately, with no harm befalling them. Of course, people might regard Jem as a disobedient child than a courageous person, but that is wrong. Jem went out of his comfort zone to protect his father from harm. Any reasonable child will jump at a chance to be in a safe and comfortable place, however, Jem is different. He preferably risks his life protecting a person he loves, rather than being in the comfort of his house, watching his loved ones get hurt. Jem went out of his comfort zone and was ready and eager to confront the dire situation that involved potential danger. Jem will expand his heroic courage and be prepared to put himself in endangerment to defend someone more delicate than him.

Moreover, Jem exercises his strength and fierce courage to protect his sister, Scout, from Bob Ewell, which in return recklessly endangers him. Jem and Scout were wandering home from the Halloween party they had attended, in pitch darkness. Jem had declined an offer asking if they wanted a ride home since it wasn't an extended walk to their house. As they moved along the yard, Jem detected a movement behind them, though he wasn't sure what it was. Jem kept noting that whenever they halted, the movement behind them stopped. He continued remaining alert as they kept moving. The moment Jem realized it wasn't one of his friends trying to frighten him; he understood something was amiss. He signaled Scout to start running. Jem shrieked, "Run, Scout! Run! Run!”. Jem tried to drag Scout with him so they can leave the attacker behind them. Despite Jem succeeding in protecting his sister from their attacker, Bob Ewell, he wasn't effective in defending himself. He sacrificed himself so that Scout could be safe from harm. As Jem was trying to lead Scout to safety and fend off Bob Ewell, his arm was broken. He ended up getting badly injured as a result. Jem risks his life, his comfort, and his safety so that he could lead his sister to safety while defending her against Bob Ewell. This is a great example of Jem showing courage because he is being brave in the face of fear, and shows mastery over that fear. He protects Scout will all his might, before being reprimanded by Bob. On the contrary, others might say Jem is stupid for not taking a ride home, and not warning Scout to run earlier. However, Jem wouldn't have known if someone was attacking him. Additionally, Jem is naturally a caring and brave brother that didn’t want to make Scout panic about the intruder behind them. Hence, Jem is an intelligent pre-teen, aware of his surroundings, and that intelligence helped him know when to instantly tell Scout to run to avoid the predator behind them. Jem utilizes his courage in challenging circumstances by saving Scout from a savage character, by graciously accepting a dare from Dill and staying by Atticus' side. He intentionally uses his courage to support those who cannot defend themselves and those who are too scared to perform a task.