Courage in To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Quote

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. Its when you know youre licked before you begin, but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what.

-Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

There are many different views on bravery and courage. Many people believe that being brave means standing strong in the face of danger. They think that having courage is an absence of fear. In reality, it is quite the opposite. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee stated: I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. Its when you know youre licked before you begin, but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what. This quote means that showing courage means, not that you are not afraid, but that you are frightened and willing to fight for your beliefs anyway. To be brave means to be scared to death and to nevertheless put up a fight, even if you know you will lose. Why do this? some may ask. Its simple really. You do this because you know what you are doing is right, and even if you lose, you stood up for yourself and others, and thats what really counts. You are brave because you need to be, not for fame and glory.

There are times in my life when I have had to show courage, even though the consequences meant that I would get in trouble. In elementary school, I was having trouble with a fellow student. I was very scared to tell on her, because I did not want her to pick on me any more than she already was. Also, as in a lot of cases, I didnt want to be known as a tattle-tale and be ridiculed by my piers. I kept quiet and silently let myself be bullied, until the day I realized that by not resisting, I was giving her more of a reason to pick on me. I understood that if I stood up for myself, then I would have no further trouble with the girl. Bullies are merely people who are afraid and angry, and so they take out their aggression on those who will not fight back. Even though I was terribly afraid that I would be made a fool of in front of my friends, I told on her. To my amazement, she never bothered me again. I showed courage by standing up for myself.

In American history, there was a group of colonists who could not bear to be given extraneous taxes and unjust rights any longer. They rose up and threw off the shackles of oppression in a great war which no one expected them to win. They did not do this because they wanted to be remembered. They did not die fighting to gain a place in the history books, or fame and glory throughout the ages. These people showed courage in the face of death because they knew that they could create a glorious future for generations to come. Even though the odds were against them, the colonist won the war that is today remembered as the Revolutionary War. We admire the courage that they showed in standing up for their rights and letting nothing stand in the way of freedom.

Truly, courage is not defeating a great host of enemies, or laughing in the face of danger. There is a difference between bravery and bravado. People should be courageous to help those in need and to do what is in reality right, not to gain recognition and glory. Being courageous is showing that you are scared and willing to fight anyway.