Nate Park

Mrs. Maria Yoo

Lit/Writing Period 4

March 15, 2007

Courage of the Most Outrageous Kind

The clichéd belief of courage in society today is one of a hero destroying a demonic monster bearing the mind or appearance of an evil demon. When asked on who has or had a lot of bravery, our American history immediately mentions people like George Washington, Nathan Hale, Ulysses S. Grant, and other war figures. Harper Lee in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, addresses the immoral racism that lived in the South during the Great Depression in the United States of America. Lee’s main characters, Atticus Finch and his family, bizarrely oppose the presence of the unfair bigotry in their Southern hometown Maycomb. Atticus’s unique mindset in the white-dominated society reveals the true nature of courage, as standing up for what one wholeheartedly believes in no matter the consequences.

First, the execution of the rabid dog, Tim Johnson, reveals Atticus’s definition of courage. Before Atticus shoots the dangerous animal; the citizens of Maycomb do not see Atticus as a true “man.” Despite being a very well respected lawyer, he does not boast enough if any manliness. One day, Atticus’s children, Jem and Scout, see Tim Johnson, the local dog, walking a little crazily. They immediately notify the strange behavior to Calpurnia, the African-American motherly figure in their life. Calpurnia recognizes Tim Johnson as dangerously rabid and notifies the sheriff and Atticus. Atticus immediately comes home and only when urged on by the sheriff, does he reluctantly shoot the dog. Miss Maudie shouts, “I saw that, One-Shot Finch…Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time…‘He never said anything about that,’ muttered Jem…if your father’s anything, he’s civilized at heart. Marksmanship’s a gift of God, a talent…people in their right minds never take pride in their talents” (97-8). The hero of the moment never mentions or reveals his hidden talent to his children because he could not take much pride from his talent. His talent consists of violently ending the life of fellow beings and to Atticus that does not express courage. Atticus’s silence about his gift illustrates that extraordinary marksmanship cannot measure courage but something else that is much simpler to explain but harder to perform determines bravery.

Later on, Atticus punishes Jem and Scout for destroying the garden of Mrs. Dubose, a sick old lady who is against the beliefs of Atticus, by requiring the two children to daily read to her. A few days after finishing their sentence, Mrs. Dubose dies. When Atticus states that he admired the lady’s bravery. When asked why he calls Mrs. Dubose a lady, he states,  “‘She was. She had her own view about things, a lot different from mine, maybe… I wanted you to see what real courage is…It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what...Mrs. Dubose won…according to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew” (112). Mrs. Dubose does not want to die addicted to the morphine and as a result she experiences a lot of pain. She stubbornly persists and reaches her goal. This quotation importantly emphasizes Atticus’s explanation that true courage is earned through standing with one’s beliefs no matter what the consequences. Whether the consequences are painful or not, the inevitable effects will not change the stance of a courageous person. Through two deaths, the nature of courage is revealed as not someone with a weapon, but someone with a resolve to see through to the end.  

Second, Atticus’s refusal to stand aside from the drunken and unruly mob exemplifies the correct courage that he is trying to communicate across clearly. Atticus lands a job of defending a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of rape by a white woman. In Maycomb, racism is alive and thriving. Instead of just dismissing the importance of the case, he wholeheartedly intends to give Tom Robinson a real chance, as Atticus is a man who views racism as immoral and evil. Some of his fellow citizens disapprove and comment, “-don’t see why you touched it in the first place…you’ve got everything to lose from this, Atticus. I mean everything” (146). Atticus continues to toil hard to win Robinson’s case. He does not care about the criteria of his neighbors but rather continues to not comply with racist mannerisms. Even when he practically becomes a social outcast and is looked down upon by everyone, he boldly displays his beliefs. When he is standing up for his principles, he courageously does so without allocating much emphasis on the consequences. Just a few days before the trial actually starts, Atticus hears rumors that there will be a dangerously aggressive mob who will attempt to lynch Tom Robinson. So Atticus looks after Tom Robinson outside Tom’s jail cell. A man in the mob tells Atticus outside the jail cell, “‘you know what we want…Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch.’ ‘You can turn around and go home again, Walter,’ Atticus said pleasantly” (151). Even in the prescience of a tangible danger, Atticus is unafraid and still refuses to stand aside and look in the other direction. He protects his principles by not acquiescing because if he stands aside then the unruly mob will mockingly stamp upon his beliefs. The event reveals that Atticus is not only unafraid of an intangible consequence but also of real dangers. These events strengthen the given definition of courage because even when Atticus faces dangers to all aspects of his life, he still continues to uphold his values.

Third, Atticus struggles for justice of Tom Robinson, an accused innocent, and his responses to all the criticism reveal the remarkable vastness of his courage. Scout, Atticus’s daughter, endures the belittling remarks of her classmates about her father. She soon approaches Atticus and asks why he is defending a black man. Atticus sighs and answers his daughter, “I’m simply defending a Negro-his name’s Tom Robinson…some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man…if I didn’t 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…simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (75). The entire town believes that Atticus should not be defending Tom Robinson or any Negro for that matter. Atticus admits that Maycomb will win the trial and not Atticus because of the obvious feelings of prejudice that will be carried to the juries box. Atticus attempts to fight fate and will offer his sweat and blood to change destiny. The courage in Atticus to fight the obvious and the oppressingly inevitable is admirable and noteworthy. Scout later on approaches Atticus with another question on a derogatory term referring to African Americans that she heard from the kids in school. Atticus replies, “nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything…ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves…’ ‘you aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you?’ ‘I certainly am…it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name” (108). Atticus wholeheartedly believes in his principles so much that whenever a seemingly derogatory term is used, he immediately transforms the nastiness into a harmless meaning. To not react with anger but with tranquility reveals his complete confidence in his principles and courage to endure harsh words without backing down one step.  Atticus’s eccentric ideas and his determination to defend Tom Robinson reveal the vastness of his courage, which bolsters the meaning of courage according to Atticus.

In a society full of bigotry and racism, Atticus’s unusual manner equates courage with supporting a standpoint regardless of the consequences. First, when Atticus executes the rabid dog and just reveals his remarkable abilities, he points out that courage is not associated with someone with a sword or a gun. Second, when Atticus refuses to stand aside from the mob and Maycomb and expose Tom Robinson to danger, he exemplifies what courage ought to be. Finally, when he struggles to find justice for Tom Robinson, he displays the greatness of his courage to not retreat under pressure. In the modern world, people only recognize courage in soldiers dying and fighting for a cause such as the war on terrorism. But there are many cases in which courage is not recognized such as when people stand up for the discriminated victims without yielding a step. Courage should be identified not only in warfare, but in all parts of the society wherever one is fighting for a good cause, often on behalf of victims and the socially disadvantaged.