Courage Defines a Person: Courage Reflects Who Each Character Will Be

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Courage Defines a Person: Courage Reflects Who Each Character Will Be Harper Lee proves what she believes courage to be in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Many characters show they have courage in the novel such as Jem, Atticus, and Tom Robinson. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s where uncourageous white people, such as Mayella and Bob Ewell, take advantage of their superiority over the black people. When someone mistakenly thought that they were courageous in the novel, their misery increased. Courageous people are brave enough to put others before themselves and only fear what will happen if they do not. In To Kill a Mockingbird courage is defined as a person who shows respect to their peers and stands up for themselves without harming others, not an arrogant person who brings other people down to feel good about themselves. An uncourageous man in the novel is Bob Ewell. Throughout the novel, Bob tried to gain attention with the Tom Robinson case. After the case ended furiousness took Bob over, as the town’s people forgot and looked down on him. During the case Bob was treated better than Tom, because Tom was a black man, the lowest in the class system during the 1930s. In the end of the novel, Bob was stabbed and died and

Last Name 2 most likely remembered only for indirectly killing an innocent black man the moment he claimed Tom Robinson raped Mayela. Bob Ewell, a haughty man, used the pain he brought to Tom to feel secure. Harper Lee’s character Tom Robinson is an example of a courageous man. Even though Tom was on the bottom of the class system, he had the bravery to say, “…I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em,” (264) during the court case. Under any circumstances because of the time period, Mayella Ewell would always be higher up on the class system then Tom, because she was a white woman. This caused Tom to lose the case. Mayella, a cowardly girl, feared what would happen if the town knew she loved a black man. Tom put Mayella before himself, despite the fact that Mayella only thought of herself when denouncing Tom for her wrong doings. Atticus Finch, Toms’s lawyer, taught his son, Jem, how to be courageous and treat people right, even though the town called him a nigger lover for doing things as such. When Jem wronged Mrs. Dubose by tearing up her garden, Atticus made him go correct things with her. Jem told Atticus that Mrs. Dubose wanted Jem, “…to come every afternoon after school and Saturdays and read to her aloud for two hours… for a month,” (140) and Atticus told Jem to do as she wished. But, when Mrs. Dubose called Scout a dirty little girl Jem stuck up for Scout saying, “My sister ain’t dirty and I ain’t scared of you.” (141) Full of courage then, Jem continued to show his bravery when he refused to leave the Maycomb jail, even though he was told to go home. Jem stayed
Last Name 3 because he wanted to prove to his father that he was not startled over what was occurring. Courage can be demonstrated in many different ways, as done in To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel showed that people with courage, such as Atticus, Jem, and Tom, are always going to be happier with themselves in the end. Bob Ewell had short time satisfaction during the case, showing that having power over the black people in the town only brought brief attention. Tom had the courage to feel compassion for Mayella, resulting in him being killed, but he lived an honest and brave man. Mayella Ewell lied to save herself from being looked down on even more by the town, but wronged the man she loved by doing so. Atticus will have lifetime satisfaction knowing he helped an innocent black man from being persecuted. Jem gained courage over the course of the novel and stood up for the people he loved. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee proved courage may be expressed as someone’s bravery to stand up for their beliefs, without bringing harm to others. Cited Source
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960, Print.

Cited: Source Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960, Print.