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Courage is an important theme in the novel. What is courage? Who is the most courageous character in To Kill a Mockingbird? Explain your answer.
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is the most courageous character. He demonstrates his courage throughout the whole book, but shows even more in the second half. He defines courage in an extraordinary way. "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. It's when you know you're licked before you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." (149). Atticus shows courage when he decides to take the case of Tom Robinson even though, he knows people will judge him because he is defending an African American. "I'm simply defending a Negro-his name's Tom Robinson. He lives in that little settlement beyond the town dump. He's a member of Calpurnia's church, and Cal knows his family well. She says they're clean-living folks. Scout, you aren't old enough to understand some things yet, but there's been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn't do much about defending this man"(100) Atticus took the case of Tom because he knew that nobody else was going to take it and that is the type of man he is. He knew that if somebody did take the case they would form a bad case and not care what happened to Tom because of his skin color.
During the trial in the second half of the book Atticus Finch shows more courage while defending the case of Tom Robinson. He had evidence that Tom was innocent and continued to prove it in the court room. “Atticus was trying to show, it seemed to me, that Mr. Ewell could have beaten up Mayella. That much I could fallow. If her right eye was blackened and she was beaten mostly on the right side of the face, it would tend to show that a left-handed person did it.” (238) Atticus shows courage in this scene because he is trying to prove that Mr. Ewell was the one that beat up Mayella and that Tom was innocent. Atticus continued to question Bob and even had him write his name to show that he was left handed, and could have very much inflicted the beating upon his daughter. “Scout,” breathed Jem. “Scout, look! Reverend, he’s crippled!”(248) Atticus had asked Tom to stand so Mayella could point him out, while also showing that Tom was crippled in his left hand and that it was no use to him. Tom could not even lift it without the help of his other hand, proving that Tom could not have been left handed. “THOMAS ROBISON REAHCED around, ran his fingers under his left arm and lifted it. He guided his arm to the bible and his rubber-like left hand sought contact with the black binding.”(254) Tom could not have choked and beat her because he had no control over his left crippled hand. Atticus shows courage in this scene because he is showing everyone including the all-white jury that Tom could not have done the things that he is being accused of doing to Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows that even with the evidence this is no guarantee that the jury would find Tom innocent because of his race and skin color.