Moral Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

“...I’d hope to get through life without a case of this kind.” This was said by Atticus, one of the many protagonist’s in the story. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is about Scout Finch, another one of the many protagonist’s in the story whose childhood innocence is slowly fading away as she gains more experience with the reality of the world. Scout lives with her brother Jem and her father in Maycomb, Alabama. During Scout’s childhood, she was curious of a mysterious neighbor named Arthur “Boo” Radley,. Midway through the story, Atticus was to represent a black man named Tom Robinson in court, who was accused of raping and beating a white woman After the trial, Scout learns lessons about achieving the ideal image of womanhood. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee communicates the theme of moral courage by creating conflicts while using symbolic people to help represent the emotions and ideas throughout the book.

Through the use of symbolism, moral courage was developed through Boo Radley’s actions throughout the book. In the novel, Miss Maudie said “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but... sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Right after Tom Robinson’s
In the novel, Atticus says, “...I’d hope to get through life without a case of this kind…” Atticus feared to defend a case like this but accepted it because he knew it was the right thing to do. In addition, conflict was displayed through this quote by Atticus, “...God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t have to shoot till he had to, and he had to today.” Atticus had to make the decision of picking up a rifle to kill a mad dog that was threatening their neighborhood. To sum up, these two quotes developed moral courage through conflict by how Atticus took the right action even though he did not want