The Theme of Courage in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

In history, there have been many courageous figures that can be looked up to such as Martin Luther King Jr., a man who, with the odds stacked against him, found a voice and was able to relate and communicate with hundreds of people. The theme of courage can be found in literature as well. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates many themes, but one she describes well is courage and how it can come in many different forms and yet be the same, all at once. Harper Lee uses Mrs. Dubose, Atticus, and Boo Radley to demonstrate her view of courage as doing something for the greater good even if it means risking something precious.

In the book, Mrs. Dubose shows courage by defeating her addiction to morphine. Even though she knew she was at the end of her life, Mrs. Dubose promised herself that she would die addiction free. “According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew”. Even though no one would ever find out or that it would not matter to anyone, she still did it. She proved to herself that she did not belong to anything or anyone. Atticus uses this situation to teach the kids what courage really is and what it looks like. “I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real courage is … It’s when you know your licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what”. Through Mrs. Dubose, Harper Lee illustrates her view of courage and how it relates to the real world. Real courage is when you are at the bottom, it is when life is at its hardest times. That is when true courage and real character is shown.

Atticus shows courage in a multitude of ways. Firstly, in chapter 10, Atticus is chosen by Mr. Tate to shoot the rabid dog before it can hurt anyone. While this is courageous in it of itself, by not bragging about his natural born talent and choosing to live peacefully, he demonstrates that “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand.” Throughout the book Atticus repeatedly shares his ideas of courage to his kids to root in them what it really means. There are many examples of him doing this throughout the book. One of, if not the most influential one, was when Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson; a true act of courage because he was completely defying cultural norms and putting himself and his kids in danger for the greater good. Additionally, even though the chances of him winning were slim, he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years berfore we started is no reason for us not to try to win”. In the history of the United States, African American people have always been disadvantaged, especially in the court system. Tom Robinson is going to face a fully biased jury with almost no chance of winning. Atticus fully understands that the odds are stacked against him but he does it because he needs to set a good example for his kids and stand up to the racism of Maycomb.

At the end of the book, Jem and Scout are walking home from school at night when they begin to hear something behind them. They ignore it until suddenly Bob Ewell is upon them. After the trial, he tells Atticus that he would get him back for what he did. He does this by trying to kill his kids, a truly cowardly act. During the struggle, Jem’s arm is broken and he passes out while Scout is hiding in her costume and another figure enters the situation. “His arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not move. Suddenly he jerked backwards and flung onto the ground”. As Bob was going to kill Scout Boo, Radley emerges from his house and saves Jem and Scout by killing Bob Ewell. For a man like Boo Radley who has not been out of his house for years, and so afraid of people that he didn’t come out of his house, to save Jem and Scout is a truly courageous act. Boo Radley is a very shy and apprehensive person “Taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service and draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight-to me that’s a sin”. Boo risks his own life to save the others while he could just have easily stayed safe in his house. The decision that Boo made put his privacy at risk because there is a chance that people could find out what he did and that is not something that he wants to happen. Nevertheless Boo Radley risks his life to save the children and because of him, they are still alive.

In conclusion Mrs. Dubose, Atticus, and Boo Radly showed immense courage by defying the odds and standing up for what is right. Each one of them single handedly took on a challenge that they did not have to but did anyway because it was the right thing to do. In society, showing true courage can be one of the hardest things to do, and its during the most pressing moments when it is seen what people are really made. Throughout the essay, it has been shown that courage can come in different forms but yet it is so similar, and it is never easy. 

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