The book To Kill a Mockingbird shows many great examples of true courage and cowardice. The courageous put others before themselves and listen to their conscience. The cowardly react selfishly and hurt themselves as well as others. Atticus is courageous; he puts Tom Robinson’s right to justice first instead of worrying about what others will say about him. Boo Radley is also courageous; he puts the children’s safety before his own safety and privacy. Bob Ewell is a coward; he puts himself before everyone else. The readers see the contrast of the intentions and end results of these characters. The courageous gain for themselves and others, but the cowardly hurt themselves and others. It is things of this nature that visibly show what true courage is and how cowardice affects people.
Atticus is an extremely courageous person in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. He shows real courage when he defends Tom Robinson. When Atticus faces verbal abuse, threats, and criticism, he chooses to do the right thing and fights against the prejudice environment that surrounds him; he has moral courage. Atticus knows that he cannot win the case and …show more content…
He is such a coward that he only goes after the defenseless. Tom Robinson is very gentle and kind but Bob responds with an outrageous condemnation and hatred in hopes of gaining dignity for himself. His lies drive Tom into losing his life, which Mr. Underwood later likens to the “senseless slaughter of songbirds” (Lee 323). Another part in the book where Bob shows cowardice is when he tries to kill Jem and Scout. Although Bob threatens Atticus, he goes after innocent children whom he knows cannot defend themselves against a grown man. Heck Tate tells Atticus that Bob is a “Low-down skunk with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children, he’d never have met you face to face.” (Lee 360). These are not the only examples of