Courage In A Time To Kill A Mockingbird

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“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of it.” - Mark Twain. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee and the film A Time to Kill, directed by Joel Schumacher, many characters express courageous actions when faced with frightening situations. Courage is the main factor that sets individuals apart, it is the audacity to do what is right, and to do so while standing alone to change the views of both men and women. Many characters in these two works expressed great deals of courage. This courage is demonstrated when two caucasian lawyers choose to defend African American men in prejudice times, when two brave women work for the greater good, and when two characters endanger their own lives to save that of others. Altogether, though …show more content…
In addition, Atticus demonstrated strong courage when the town people judged him for his actions. Scout and Atticus say; “ “most folks seem to think they’re right and you’re wrong…” “They’re certainly entitled to think that [...] but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” ” (Lee 139). Atticus felt morally compelled to defend Tom Robinson and he wanted his children to see why he is doing it. This quotation reveals Atticus’ courageous decision to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Although Atticus did not win this case in a court of law, he had some sort of a victory. Not only were his children able to comprehend the injustice of the situation, they were able to understand why. In addition, the jury took a long time to decide Robinson’s verdict, Miss Maudie said that in some essence Atticus did have a victory because the town of Maycomb took a baby step toward equality. Similarly, Jake Brigance in A Time to Kill stood alone through courage to change the opinions of others. When African American man, Carl Lee Hailey, killed two caucasian men for raping his daughter, attorney Jake Brigance was eager to defend
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