Dominic DeLeo

Mr. McConnel

English 9

12/1/2017

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characters Scout, Jem, and Atticus

show an enormous amount of courage in part one of the novel. These characters are showing

courage through their actions such as sticking up for people when no one else will, or trying to

do the right thing when it is the unpopular decision. These characters did these actions so that

other would be better off. Their actions show that they care for others not just themselves.

The first character to show courage was Scout. Scout is a girl who isn’t afraid to tell

people what she thinks and knows. When Miss Caroline did not understand why Walter

Cunningham did not have any lunch money, Scout tried to explain why to Miss Caroline. In the

book Scout says, “The Cunningham’s never took anything they couldn’t pay back – no church

baskets and no scrip stamps.” (Lee 26) The second time Scout showed courage and bravery is

when she defended her dad in the schoolyard when kids were calling Atticus names in front of

Scout because he took on the Tom Robinson case. “He [Cecil] announced in the schoolyard the

day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended n-.” (Lee 99)

The second character to show an enormous amount of bravery is Jem. After the fire had

happened in Jem’s neighborhood he didn’t want his dad to talk with Mr. Radley about the

blanket, Jem didn’t want Mr. Radley to know about this because he didn’t want to get his new

friend into trouble. In the book it says, “I looked down and found myself clutching a brown

woolen blanket I was wearing around my shoulders, squaw-fashion” (Lee 95) Another time
when Jem showed bravery is when Jem stood up for his dad against Mrs. Dubose who was also

calling Atticus names in front of Jem because he chose to defend the Tom Robinson case. In the

book Mrs. Dubose says, “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for

n-.” (Lee 135)

The last character to show bravery is Atticus. Atticus showed a lot of bravery for taking

on the Tom Robinson case. He knew that when he did, a lot of the town would dislike him for

helping an African American man in court. In the book it says, “The jury couldn’t possibly be

expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells…” (Lee 117) Another time Atticus

showed a large amount of courage is when he shot Tim Johnson. Shooting the dog showed that

Atticus was not afraid to take on a challenge, and that he would do what he could to help others.

“I heard the crack. Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin; we saw him blink hard.” (Lee127)

In conclusion the characters Scout, Jem and Atticus show an enormous amount of

courage in the first part of this book. They chose to do the unpopular decisions and defended

others who couldn’t defend themselves. By doing this it shows that these characters try to do the

right thing even when it is difficult, this also shows that they care about others not just

themselves.