Kassidy Derhammer Mrs. Hess ENGLISH 9B 3rd March 2023 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay In our society courage is seen as going into a dangerous situation but courage is really based on fighting a fear one is going through. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee in the mid-1960s focuses on the Finch family and their town Maycomb, Alabama. The main character Scout Finch spends most of her time with her brother Jem and their friend Dill. One of the most significant events in this book is the trail that Atticus Finch is assigned to, Tom Robinson a colored man who was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus takes this case and tries his hardest to win but unfortunately, Tom is found guilty. After the trial, the Finch family suffers from the beliefs of the townspeople. The book Just Mercy was based on the real-life trial of Walter McMillan a colored man accused of murder in 1988 in …show more content…
In the book, Atticus has to explain this to Scout by telling her “If I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”(Lee, 86). By saying this Atticus means if he denies this case he is doing the wrong thing and is running from a situation where he could help a man who has done nothing wrong, he couldn’t ask for Scout and Jem to do the right thing when he didn’t when he had the chance. This quote shows that Atticus has courage because he knows that this case isn’t being judged fairly and if he denies the trial, it shows his children that they can run away from things that challenge them. Also, by Atticus taking this case he is proving to the people that even though Tom is a colored man he should be treated and given the same efforts as a trial of a light-skinned man. This shows that Atticus isn’t afraid to stand up and fight through the challenges the court system throws at
Genuine Mockingbird The truest mockingbirds are ones who symbolize strength, empathy, and a good heart with acceptance. They also have to show fortitude and bravery toward the world without thought. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird strength is led by Atticus Finch, the father of six-year-old Scout Finch.
I mean everything.” ( 195) He knew that he had to take the case and defend Tom Robinson in court because it was the right thing to do, and he had to set an example for his kids, he had to show them that even though orders may not like it, you have to stand for what’s right and what you believe in. Another example of Atticus showing courage is when he goes to the prison cell to guard Tom Robinson’s sell from the Lynch mob, since in Page 194, Officer Tate was informing Atticus that trouble was most likely to go down, he decided to go alone at night in an attempt to stop the mob from getting to Tom Robinson, who he knew was innocent, in order to teach his kids that racism is
As said by Atticus,” I don’t know but they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.” (213). Because Tom is judged guilty Atticus believes that the justice system is sometimes unfair and unethical, to colored people and it may continue that way for a long time.
Atticus says this so that some people may form a new opinion if Tom is guilty or not guilty. After Atticus’s closing argument prior to the verdict, Jem was very confident based upon the evidence presented that Tom would be not guilty, after the trial Jem was very upset and crying about the harsh reality of the case case, while he is talking to Atticus about this he says, “It ain’t right, Atticus”(Lee 242). Jem is finally maturing and realizing the harsh reality of Maycomb and the racism and prejudice in people's minds throughout their society. Jem learns that just because of the way you were born you are not given the same opportunities that others have just because of one factor, the color of your skin, not the way you act, or your reputation, but the color of your skin, something so little, but has such a massive impact on everyday life.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird there are many different types of people. Including people that show courage, boldness, growing up, also people who were killed trying to get out of prison which they shouldn’t even have been there and were only there because a little girl could not tell the TRUTH, and other people that show intelligence. We are going to be talking about one of the people that showed courage Atticus Finch. Now see Atticus Finch was a good man who although got criticised openly he was actually well respected in the town of maycomb. Now you see he was criticised because he was trying to free a man from going to prison for something he did not do.
Not only does Atticus agree to take Tom Robinson’s case, but he defends Tom from start to finish. By taking Tom’s case he’s agreeing to take the hate from everyone else in the town of Maycomb, and exposing himself and his family during those difficult times. Atticus shows great courage when he puts himself between Tom Robinson and the mob that has come for Tom. Atticus shows no fear and with courage, he once again honors his moral by protecting Tom’s life with his own. Another example of Atticus’s courage is when he had to shoot the rabid dog in front
In the novel Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he felt and knew that was the right thing to do. Even though Atticus knows he has little to no chance of winning the case, he still proceeds to defend Tom. While Atticus explains to Scout why he is taking on the case he states, “I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again,” (Lee 100). Atticus takes on the case knowing he may not win but does it anyways because it’s what he feels is the right thing to do. No matter what other people may do or say he does it anyway.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee tells the adventures of Scout Finch in a fictional town of Maycomb, set in the 1930’s. Since our narrator is a child we see a lot of innocent point of views, that reveal a lot of themes. one central theme that we can all see is, courage. From the kind hearted Made, to Atticus, even to the innocent Scout. all show, in some way courage.
Austin Crim Russell Honors English 15 March 2023 Courage When people think of the word courage they usually think of a knight or a king, they do not consider themselves courageous. When courage is needed some people can step up when no one else will, that is courage. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the main characters Atticus Finch shows great courage to his children and his town when he does the stuff no one else can or will do.
As Nelson Mandela wisely said “ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee centers around the Finch family and the lessons that both Jem and Scout Finch learn as their father defends a black man accused of rape. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we see the idea of true courage reflected in Jem Finch’s journey. Harper Lee paints a picture of true courage as it is, and Jem Finch takes this lesson to heart as he sees examples of true courage in his life.
Atticus honestly tried his best to win the case for Tom, but the town had already made their decision when they first heard of the case. It took incredible courage to defend a black man in the 1930s. He tells Scout “ Simply because we are licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” Atticus also displayed courage when he stood in front of the jail and protected Tom. He knew a mob of drunk countrymen would try to pull something and he was right.
To illustrate, “Tom Robinson is a colored man, Jem. No jury in the world is going to say, ’We think you are guilty, but not very,’ on a charge like that.” (Lee, 251). This quote shows how little faith Atticus had in Tom’s freedom. He knew that he would not win Tom’s trial, no matter how hard he tried, because no jury in 1930s Alabama would take the word of a black man over that of a white man, no matter how much evidence there was to prove the black man’s innocence.
During the novel, Jem and Scout’s Father, Atticus, is asked to defend a young black man named Tom Robinson. Tom has been accused of raping a white woman, which is a crime punishable by death. Because Atticus is a deferential man of integrity, and pushes for what's right, he agrees to take upon Tom’s case, knowing the criticism and disapproval
To Kill a Mockingbird - Courage "Courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee 's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel. "The only thing we 've got is a black man 's word against the Ewells '.
To Kill a Mockingbird: Moral Courage “Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make man brave in one way; moral courage, which despises all opinion, will make a man brave in another,” Charles Colton. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a bildungsroman that explores life through the eyes of six year old Scout Finch. Raised in the small and quiet town of Maycomb Alabama, Scout is surrounded by the hardships stricken by the Great Depression. Around her she experiences poverty, grief and most importantly, bigotry. Throughout the novel, Scout realizes the true beauty of life, but also the inevitable factors of ignorance and narrow-mindedness within her community.