Courage in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Harper Lee based many characters from her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, on important people in her own life. Her father, a southern lawyer, served as a model for Atticus Finch. Her older sister shared many of the same reclusive qualities as Boo Radley. It can be understood that these people in Lee's life were only foundations for the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird in view of the abundance of courageousness found in the novel. It would be very difficult to conceive that real people were actually as courageous as Atticus and Boo. To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that Lee only regarded as a simple love story, is much more than that. This American classic incorporates powerful themes, one of which is courage. Throughout the novel, Atticus Finch is the most prominent figure of courage, displaying his bravery in nearly the entire length of the novel. Atticus' black client that is accused of rape, Tom Robinson, also portrays courage in his composure and disposition. Though only appearing in flesh once, Boo Radley exhibits much courage with his valiant acts. These three major characters show tremendous courageousness from what they do and what they don't do and they teach each other the true meaning o
A third profile in courage is that of Boo Radley. He only appears at the very end of the novel in displaying his ultimate act of courage, but he also shows courage in other parts of the book when he doesn't appear. In the beginning of the story, Jem and Scout are infatuated with the mysteriousness of Boo Radley. Boo, being secluded in his home, responds to the children's infatuation by leaving them gifts in the knothole of an oak tree. He befriends Jem and Scout despite the fact that they play games about him. This shows his courage because he is a recluse and would not like to go outside, but he does so anyway in order to befriend Jem and Scout. Also, putting the gifts in the knothole is against the wishes of Nathan Radley, his brother and paternal figure. Boo gathers courage to give gifts to the Finch children and only stops when the knothole is filled with cement by Nathan. Another event when Boo shows courage is when Miss Maudie's home catches fire. The fire forces the Finches to come out of their home and as Scout stands in the cold, she unknowingly receives a blanket to keep herself warm. She finds out that it was Boo Radley who gave her the blanket. Boo shows courage in this situation for the same reason that he was courageous when he gave Jem and Scout gifts. Boo is a recluse so he shows a substantial amount of courage when he simply goes outside his quarters. His bravery and kind nature makes him desire to help his friend, Scout, and that qualifies as a courageous act, even though if it is small. Mr. Finch isn't the only reason why To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that well portrays people and their acts of courage. Tom Robinson, a victimized black man, also upholds much bravery and valiancy. Tom Robinson is the ultimate victim in the novel. When Tom tries to be a good neighbor to Mayella Ewell, he is rewarded with a rape trial and consequently death. He shows much courage and integrity to help out Mayella, who has absolutely no friends and has never been respected by anyone. When she calls Tom to come inside the Ewell property and help her fix the door, Tom does so, seeing that Mayella never has anyone to help her. The door doesn't seem to be broken to Tom and as he leaves, Mayella asks him to take a box down for her on top of another chiffarobe. When Tom reaches to do so, Mayella grabs him around the legs and hugs him. She wants to kiss Tom, who happens to be terrified. When Bob Ewell comes in the door and sees this, Tom runs in fear and the Ewells fabricate a story in an attempt to become "heroes" after they win in court. Tom Robinson shows great courage to even go to help Mayella. Tom's good nature makes him want to help Mayella because he has pity for her, even though she is white and he is black. The only thing that keeps the Ewells above Tom is their skin color. Tom unconsciously realizes this and refuses to take money for his services to Mayella. He has a hard time getting by with the money he currently makes, but he won't take Mayella's money because the Ewells survive on welfare. After Tom is accused of rape for helpin
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Approximate Word count = 2064
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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