Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

One type of courage that is shown in To Kill a Mockingbird is physical courage; the act of putting one’s self in harm’s way to protect others. This best portrayed by the character Arthur Radley, more commonly known as Boo. Boo is a mysterious man who lives in the Radley place and he is almost never seen outside. One other type of courage that To Kill a Mockingbird portrays is mental courage. This is when an individual has the courage to stay strong and carry on during a crisis. Scout Finch, the protagonist of this novel, is able to have mental courage. Throughout the book the reader learns that Scout has a tendency to fight to solve her problems. Her father Atticus knows of Scout’s bad habit, so when she tells him that other members of their
Moral courage is when one has the moral strength to stand up for what he or she believes to be right. This type of courage is best shown by Atticus; a lawyer and the father of both Scout and Jem. After Christmas, Scout overhears Atticus talking to her uncle Jack about the upcoming trial. “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand,” Atticus explains to Jack (Lee 117). Atticus understands that he will lose the Tom Robison case simply because people are prejudiced and racist. Furthermore Atticus knows that the existing prejudice and racism in his community will cause the people to judge him and his family. Despite the social consequences Atticus decides to ignore the opinions of other and to do what he knows to be right. He explains the reasoning behind his choice when Jem and Scout ask him why he would defend Tom when everyone else says that it is wrong. He tells them that “before [he] can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself” (Lee 140). Atticus realises that his own moral values are more important that the opinions of others. Atticus defends Tom because he knows that it is the right thing to do, and he has the moral courage to deal with the