How Does Atticus Show Real Courage

Courage is a force that presents itself in many forms. After the death of Mrs. Dubose, the “cantankerous” neighbor the children initially despised, Atticus Finch informs the children on why Dubose was a brave lady by illustrating what courage is and is not. He explained, “I wanted you to see what courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand" (149). Courage is not being rebellious in the face of fear. It is not being vulnerable, frightful, and weak. Courage can be interpreted as finding strength within pain. Courage is knowing your fears but annihilating them anyway. Courage is fighting for what you believe in, even if you are the only one willing to put forth an effort. Atticus elucidates the meaning of real courage by stating, “It’s when you know you’re
This is a point made very evident when Atticus served as the defense attorney in the Tom Robinson case.
Atticus Finch shows tremendous levels of real courage throughout the novel; his first sign of true bravery was when he was appointed to defend Tom Robinson, and he agreed to take over the case. Atticus did not believe in racial segregation or discrimination, and this pushed him to fight for Tom Robinson’s innocence. A white man defending a black man’s honor was nearly unheard of, and the people of Maycomb made impudent remarks, even to the point of Mrs. Dubose expressing, “Your father’s no better than the ni****s and trash he works for” (pg. 135). However, despite the judgmental tendencies of Maybomb’s fellow citizens, Atticus proceeded to work toward Tom being granted freedom. Another act of courage Atticus demonstrates was when he shot down the mad dog named Tim