To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Courage, frequently associated with bravery, defines somebody who has the guts to try something new, different, and often scary. Harper Lee introduces the idea of courage in To Kill a Mockingbird. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of an unjustly accused black man; Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor who saves Scout and her brother from being killed; and Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, an old, grouchy, wheelchair bound woman who lives with her maid down the street from the Finches. Using subtle acts of courage, Harper Lee was able to gain the readers’ admiration for Atticus, Boo and Mrs. Dubose. In the story, Atticus’ bravery was displayed when he says, “No matter what anyone says to you, don’t let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change…it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.” He defended Tom Robinson because he could not defend himself and he knew he would not get a fair trial. This showed Atticus’s morality was strong because, despite knowing the consequences, he stuck by his morals and defended Tom ‘displaying his point of view’ ignoring the fact that a black man was always guilty. In To Kill a Mockingbird Boo had been shut away from society all of his life with the exception of when he was very young; he would occasionally be spotted with his mother. His courage was shown when the author stated, “Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.” It took courage for him to try to reach out to another person. He daringly stepped out of his safety zone. Boo may have been the ghost of Scout’s neighborhood, but Mrs. Dubose was the dragon. Scout introduced her as “plain hell”. In reality, she was a morphine addict and, as a result, she became bad tempered. In the book, Atticus stated that, “Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” She had moral courage, and was determined to break off from her addiction to morphine. Because of this determination, she was able to overcome the addiction, using Jem and Scout as a distraction, and die peacefully. Using subtle acts of courage, Harper Lee was able to gain the readers’ admiration for Atticus, Boo and Mrs. Dubose. Atticus did not care what the town thought about Tom Robinson, he wanted to represent someone who he knew was innocent; Boo reached out to Scout and Jem by filling the tree with miscellaneous items and by saving their lives; and Mrs. Dubose overcame her addiction to morphine, dying unperturbed. All three of these acts were used by Lee to display the essential goodness of mankind and his unique ability to perform bravely in the face of adversity.