Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay

Courage isnt an absence of fear. Its doing what you are afraid to do. Its having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory. ~John Maxwell. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch), and Atticus Finch display acts of valor that contribute, and in some cases encourage their rectitude. Harper Lee demonstrates that acting courageously can lead to an improved, sustained, or newly developed personal integrity. Jean Louise Finch responds to her own acts of courage by finding her righteous moral ground. The young Finch girl stepped between a potentially violent conflict, between Atticus and a group of male residents of Maycomb. Scout approached the conflict frightened, and†¦show more content†¦Later in the book, Jeremy is punished to reading to a sick elderly woman (Mrs. Dubose) each day for a month, as a result of his yard-wrecking burst of vengeance. At the end of what turned out to be a bit over a month, Mrs. Dubose dies. Only after this event does Atticus explain to Jem the task that the elderly woman had set out finishing before her death. Mrs. Dubose had developed a dependency to morphine, resulting from an innocent enough prescription of the opiate. The old woman set her mind to freeing herself from the addiction before her time came, an incredible task for someone in any condition, let alone her sickly self. When Mr. Finch’s actions (Arranging the readings) were ques tioned, Atticus stated â€Å"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. Its when you know youre licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.† This act taught Jem a new meaning of courage. Jeremy struggled to see the occurrence as significant, because he did not agree to the rude, racist, and unfair statements Mrs. Dubose had shouted him and his sister. Because of that, Jem’s personal integrity is challenged. He dislikes the hatred Maycomb County’s people seem to have for minorities and anyone who doesn’t â€Å"fit the mold,† and refuses to see the grey areas where ones virtues often seem to lurk. Jeremy Atticus Finch’s morally right mindset is shaped andShow MoreRelatedThe Courage Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1361 Words   |  6 PagesCourage Isn’t Having The Strength To Go On - It Is Going On When You Don’t Have Strength You can have anything you put your mind to through the strength and power of courage, In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, incidents of courage occur abundantly throughout the novel. These courageous moments create a feeling of hope for the reader and have given the novel its prestigious place in American literature. 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