How Does Lee Demonstrate The Idea Of Courage

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Reading broadens our minds and touches our hearts. It creates greater understanding and compassion in the reader through its characters and themes. Write an essay that addresses the ideas expressed in this statement with reference to your class novel.

"You never really understand a person, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." With over 30 million copies sold worldwide and claiming title to the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a classic novel written by Harper Lee that not only excites and educates the reader but ultimately encourages them to re–evaluate their preconceptions and learn to denote an emotional understanding of another's feelings or problems by putting...show more content...

Atticus challenged both Scout and Jem to do this which resulted in a new friendship and taught them an invaluable life lesson about passing judgement. Consequently, the reader is able to take away from the children's knowledge of deceptive appearances and have a better understanding of people and the reasons behind their actions.

Moreover, Lee demonstrates the idea of courage through Mrs Dubose and Jem when he is forced to go and read to her as a punishment for destroying her camellias. Before Jem met Mrs Dubose courage to him was holding a gun in his hand. Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict and wanted to overcome the addiction, "I wanted you to see what real courage was...it's when you know you're licked before you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." The dialogue between Atticus and Jem stresses that courage is the inner desire to succeed and to do what is righteous, no matter what humiliation or consequences it may bring. This is proven true in Mrs Dubose's situation as despite the pain it caused her she succeeded, as she died free of her addiction. As a result, Jem's initial ideas of bravery matures and thus allows the reader's to question their own thoughts on what courage is to them.

Bravery is also exemplified by Atticus when he killed the rabid dog "Mr Finch this is a one–shot job." Even though on the outside he appeared to be a pacifist, disliking guns and violence, Atticus was a man of real

To Kill A Mockingbird Timed Essay "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, there is symbolism behind the title. Mockingbirds are portrayed as harmless and innocent which relates to several characters in the passage. Although there are many characters that can convey this symbolism, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson best fit the metaphor because they are the most misjudged characters throughout the novel, they have not shown or caused any harm to the people of Maycomb. The title, To Kill A Mockingbird, has a connection with the overall main idea of the plot. It carries a large amount of symbolism in the book. According to Miss Maudie, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don't do one...show more content...

Tom Robinson is an innocent man, convicted for the rape of Mayella Ewell for being colored. Tom is not guilty of this crime but the jury was afraid to speak the truth since the society of Maycomb believes a white man's word is stronger and contains more justice than a colored man's. Tom Robinson has testified that he helped Mayella with her labor because of his generosity but when Mayella Ewell forces herself on Tom, he chooses to run away and not physically harm the Ewell's in any way which allows the Ewell's to use him as an escape during the court–case. Therefore, once Tom is killed, the truth is revealed. In the novel, Mr. Underwood submits a section about Tom Robinson's death in the paper. In the passage, it states "He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters." Through this quote, Mr. Underwood is showing how the Ewell's killed Tom's innocence to the community. It proved that although the jury knew the truth, they decided to take the easy way out in order not to cause any conflict and offend the large population of Maycomb, the whites. In the process, they killed a mockingbird, one that caused no harm to anyone through his kindness and generosity, Tom Robinson. In summation, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson both convey the metaphor of the mockingbird best. They are both mockingbirds that lived without being affected by the rumors of Maycomb and the rules of

Get more content