The Act of Courage Imagine, it’s the middle of the night and you are attacked by a deranged man with the intent to kill! In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme of courage was used greatly throughout the whole book and almost every character in the book showed some form of courage. The characters Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson showed lots of courage throughout the book. The first character that showed courage that I want to talk about is Atticus Finch. Atticus protects the black man, his defendant in court, Tom Robison, in front of the jail house when an angry mob is looking to do harm to Tom. Atticus held his ground and was prepared for the turbulence to come.