How Is the Theme of Courage Explored in to Kill a Mockingbird?

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How is The Theme of Courage Explored in To Kill a Mockingbird? Courage means different things to many people. To most people, courage is simply the characteristic which a person has who is able to build up the bravery in order to overcome a task which they were originally not determined to do. To others, courage is being able to put yourself in the most dangerous position you possibly can, and acting as though you are not afraid of it. However, to a large amount of people, courage is a mixture of the two. Courage is the ability to keep yourself motivated, to face your fears, to do whatever it is you can in order to overcome any problems in your way. Courage is to stay determined and to keep trying to do something, and never giving up, even if you know there is no hope. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird often covers the themes of courage and bravery, and largely through the characters of Atticus, Mrs Dubose and Jem. Atticus, the father of two children with no mother, has arguably the greatest reasons to give up hope throughout the entire book of all the characters. He has to face many personal issues involving his job, his family life and his relationships with other people living in Maycomb, among other dramatic events. Despite this, Atticus manages to be one of the most strong-willed, good-hearted characters which we meet in the novel, which is rather surprising considering the differences between the demanding life which he has to live in comparison to the easy lives of his neighbours. The first time which we see Atticus showing a large amount of heroic bravery is during Chapter 5, when a mad dog is out on the streets outside the Finch household. Atticus steps out into the road and takes out his gun in order to lead the dog to his death. Scout and Jem were both watching in amazement, and were incredibly proud of what their father had done. However, Atticus

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