To Kill a Mockingbird Courage Essay Sample

Courage. A principle characteristic shown throughout Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The Greek philosopher Plutarch once quoted courage saying, “Courage consists not in hazarding without fear; but being resolutely minded in a just cause.” This quote conveys that courage is not the absence of fear, but showing strength in the face of it. Set from the early to mid 1930’s, specifically from 1933 to 1935, To Kill a Mockingbird was when racism and prejudice were seen as more normalized than now. Themes like racism, prejudice, and good vs. evil were recurring themes throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. To find acts of courage against topics such as these were never commonly found especially in a place like Maycomb, Alabama, yet characters such as Atticus Finch, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and even Heck Tate still displayed courage. Even though society frowned at going against racism, and prejudice during these times, these characters still chose to fight for what was right throughout Harper Lee’s novel.

Atticus Finch was a white man. He worked as a local defense attorney and was one of the few people in Maycomb who truly believed in racial equality. He was the best lawyer in Maycomb county and voluntarily defended Tom Robinson even though his decision was disfavoured by the white citizens of Maycomb for defending a black man. He willingly accepted Tom’s case knowing that they may lose but was determined because he was sure that Tom Robinson was innocent, Scout asks why he is taking the case even though the whole county is against it he elaborates by saying, “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). Atticus has a strong sense of morals and when he confesses to this he is referring to how he could not live with himself if he were to decline this case knowing an innocent man’s life is at stake. The racial difference of a white man defending a black man made the whole town doubtful of Atticus. He showed courage through sticking with his morals no matter how many people were against it. Atticus was definitely a courageous character exemplified in Harper Lee’s novel and it is even more evident because we can tell by the sense of Atticus’ morals, he could have the whole world turn its back on him and he would still take the case because he knew it was the right thing to do.

Arthur “Boo” Radley was another example of a courageous character, he showed courage analogous to the theme of good vs. bad. Boo never came out of the security of his own home and desired privacy. He watched over Jem, Scout, and Dill through the shutters of his home over the course of three years. Over those three years he grew an attachment to them, hence why when he saw Bob Ewell harassing Jem and Scout he put himself into the vulnerability of the outside world in order to defend them. Harper Lee portrays in her novel the aftermath of the attack and it is shown that Boo was scared and did not seem to understand the whole situation, this is especially exemplified when Boo says to Scout, ”Will you take me home?”(Lee 372). Scout narrates that Boo’s tone of voice was one of a scared child. Even though Boo was afraid to come out of the comfort of his own home he went out of his way to save the children in the face of danger which really displayed how courageous he was throughout this whole instance.

Heck Tate the sheriff of Maycomb county shows courage through protecting Boo in return for rescuing Jem and Scout. Although Heck even says Boo would not get in legal trouble as it was an act of self defense, he said it would be a sin to tell the town about how Boo saved Jem and Scout. He specifically says, “Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight--to me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it’d be different. But not this man, Mr.Finch”(Lee 369-370). He is alluding to the fact that all Boo has ever wanted was to be left alone, Heck Tate wants to respect his wishes by going out of his way to even lie to the law for him. His character is a persona of justice and it is especially portrayed earlier on in the novel when Heck Tate gives a testimony which aligns with Atticus’ argument during Tom Robinson’s case. Tom Robinson was an innocent man killed and Heck Tate could not bear to see more injustices. He solidifies that he really does believe in justice and because he was not able to help Tom he tries his best to at least help Boo. He was courageous, had a fair set of morals, and helped Boo by the end of the novel.

Consequently Mayella Ewell won the case even though Atticus displayed so much evidence deeming her accusations as false. Moreover, Attius Finch, Boo Radley, and Heck Tate’s acts of courage were all tied to Mayella Ewell and her lies in court. Some may say that Mayella was a courageous character because she still tried her best on the witness stand but Mayella was not courageous. Unfortunately for her she was one out of four characters who did not exemplify courage. Mayella was fearful of her father and followed his orders in framing Tom. She was ashamed to say that she was the one who made advances on Tom because he was African American. With all the evidence Atticus presented it is hard to believe Mayellas’s accusations especially after seeing how she reacts to Atticus’ questions asking, “What did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defense to it? Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?’ When Atticus turned away from Mayella he looked like his stomach hurt, but Mayella’s face was a mixture of terror and fury”(Lee 251). Even though in Harper Lee’s novel Tom is never really deemed innocent, Mayella's reaction to previous questions and Atticus’s line of questions was enough to infer that she was lying about the whole case. When people lie there are certain body language reactions that are shown, if Mayella were telling the truth she may have reacted offended and question Atticus’ statement but the reaction of terror and fury shows that she was not telling the truth. She also hesitated in answering some questions and refused to give out proper details or remembered certain actions a little too clearly. Her whole testimony had a lot of plot holes and this really shows that Mayella was not a good example of a courageous character contrary to how some readers may think. She truly gave into the fear of her father and lied in the face of the court in order to protect herself.

The dictionary definition of courage is to show, “Strength in the face of pain or grief.” Atticus Finch, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, and Heck Tate were all examples of courageous characters in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch took Tom Robinson’s case and put his career at risk to defend him, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley left the security of his home in order to rescue Jem and Scout, Heck Tate went out of his way to defend Boo in the face of the law to respect his wishes of privacy. They all carried courage throughout the novel in spite of fear. Courage is a virtue and traits of courage can still be found throughout the real world, our society’s growth has not been tremendous but it is getting there. Racism, prejudice, hate crimes, they can all be found in today’s world, our cosmos may be corrupt and evil but the world is growing and more courageous faces are seen each day. Courage is to willingly put oneself in the face of fear and showing strength.