In To Kill Mockingbird courage is presented to us as a desirable quality. Harper Lee suggests that there is some misunderstanding as to what real courage in the community of Maycomb actually is. Many aspects of courage are shown in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are examples of physical courage, such as Atticus facing the rabid dog. There is also moral courage, an example of this would be when Atticus takes on Tom Robinson’s case and he sticks to his principles, even though he knows that he can’t win. Scout shows this kind of courage when she doesn’t fight back when people criticise Atticus. Atticus sees Mrs Dubose as a strong example of someone with courage and he calls her the bravest person he knows. She has the goal of dying free from her drug addiction and she achieves it with great effort. Atticus teaches his children that the action of Mrs Dubose is true courage and it is not “a man with a gun in his hand.” In one way or another every character shows at least one aspect of courage, however two of the most courageous seem to be Atticus and Mrs. Dubose.
One of the main characters in the novel is Atticus Finch. The name Atticus has a Greek origin and means ethical (moral, upright, honest, righteous and honourable), which suits him perfectly. Atticus Finch is a man of strong ethics, and a big contrast to the uncaring society. He tries to teach his children (Jem and Scout), to use their own heads instead of going with the popular opinion. He also never takes a side in an argument.
Atticus Finch is looked up to by his family and his friends who "trust him to do right". He sets a level of morality that no other character in the book comes close to matching. Everything he does and says is governed by reason. Once Atticus decides that a path of action is right, he perseveres and grasps the goal regardless of threats or criticisms. But Atticus does not look go looking for this. In fact another quality of