Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. Mark Twain once said, “Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not the absence of fear.” Courage has been interpreted by many people; writers, philosophers. The true meaning of courage is not fearlessness, but the ability to not let fear stop you. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee introduces three characters that display courage. Atticus Finch, a humble lawyer with two kids, faces many challenges throughout the book such as racism and potential violence towards him and even his family because of his commendable actions. Mrs. Dubose, a sickly old woman, whom many readers may find as a cruel woman, but in reality when taken a closer look can be seen as a role model. Atticus Finch agrees that she is a true example of courage and tells this to his son Jem. Mrs. Dubose shows courage through her incredible power move that revealed her strength. In the face of death, she fought an enemy that has always been seen as unbeatable and won. Lastly, Boo Radley, whose true name is Arthur Radley, shows his true colors as he risks his life to leap out of the shadows after years of hiding away to save the lives of two children who were in the face of danger. These characters' actions throughout the book show that they are courageous and there are important lessons that can be learned from their actions. Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley exemplify courage because they go out of their comfort zone to do something that may be scary and uncomfortable but they don’t let that fear stop them.  

Atticus Finch displays courage the most throughout the book because he is a role model not only to his children but a role model to readers who come across this story. In this story, Atticus Finch is the father of two children, Scout and Jem (Jeremey). He is working as a lawyer and he was selected to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Because of this, his daughter Scout has to endure racist comments by a fellow classmate, Cecil Jacobs, who announced in the schoolyard that Scout’s father was defending “n****rs”. When Scout brings this up to her father he answers, “I’m simply defending a Negro -- his name’s Tom Robinson . . .” (Lee 75). He then explains that he goes to the same church Calpurnia goes to and that she knows his family well. Atticus further explains to Scout, “. . . there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (Lee 75). In this part of the story, there is an important lesson the readers should take out. While Atticus and Scout were talking, he tells her the main reason he decided to defend Tom Robinson was, “. . . if I didn’t I couldn’t hold my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again” (Lee 75). He had to hold his head up and maintain the moral high ground. Scout then asks if he will win the case but Atticus says he won’t but that it is important to fight anyway. Atticus is going against essentially society and deciding to do what is right and defend Tom Robinson. This is not common in this book, for a white man to willingly defend a black man was not seen as normal. It was frowned against, for even Scout’s cousin was telling Scout that the family could never walk the streets again for Atticus was defending a “n****r”. He even went so far as to call his uncle a “n****r - lover”. Atticus is destroying society’s standards and making the choice that is morally correct against everyone’s wishes. This action is not only courageous but also admirable. Atticus in Chapter 15 even stays outside the jail to protect Tom Robinson from a mob of men that were going to hurt Tom Robinson. Scout and Jem follow Atticus to the jailhouse where they witness him confront a mob of men coming to the jailhouse. In the beginning of the conversation with the men on page 151, one of the men tells Atticus, “You know what we want . . .” (Lee 151). This man was most likely implying harm to Tom Robinson, for he also adds, “Get aside from the door, Mr. Finch” (Lee 151). Atticus Finch however refuses to move from his spot in front of the jailhouse and tries to dissuade the men from getting past saying, “You can turn around and go home again, Walter. . .” (Lee 151). This conversation could have gotten to the point of violence had Scout not come in and talked to Mr. Cunningham, one of the men in the mob, about his entailment. Of course, Mr. Underwood, the reporter who lives next door to the jailhouse, was also there by his window acting as a sniper to help protect Tom Robinson. Atticus went this far to protect one man, this is truly noble. This is only one example of Atticus’s heroicness, before even this he saved the neighborhood from a rabies-infected dog in Chapter 10. At the beginning of the chapter, Scout and Jem were sulking because they believed their father was old and frail and couldn’t do the things that the young dad’s their classmates had could do. Scout even has a conversation with Miss Maudie, their kind neighbor, about how Atticus was too old to do anything stating, “. . .Miss Rachel is old and so are you and Atticus.” (Lee 90). Maudie then comments that she doesn’t believe that the age of 50 is very old and explains to Scout that Atticus’s age was a benefit to Jem and her. Scout sulks and says, “Atticus can’t do anything. . .” (Lee 90). Miss Maudie tries to convince her otherwise but is unsuccessful. Jem and Scout view their father as not being cool and incapable of doing anything cool because of his age. But their views of him change when they witness him shoot the neighborhood dog on page 96. In Chapter 10 Jem saw the neighborhood dog, Tim Johnson, acting strange. He tells Calpurnia who then informs the whole neighborhood that there is a rabid dog. Heck Tate gets called and he arrives with Atticus. The kids get sent inside and when Heck Tate sees the dog he gives his gun to Atticus telling him to shoot it. When Atticus hesitates Heck Tate tells him, “ I can’t shoot well and you know it” (96). Atticus then shoots the dog, not missing. Atticus Finch single-handedly saved the entire neighborhood from a rabid dog that could have caused harm to someone. Atticus Finch is not only showing courage, he is a legitimate hero in more ways than one. He is now seen as more than the old man who can’t do anything in the eyes of his children after that day. This one-man has affected so many people, touched their hearts and their lives. He changed the status quo and is the definition of true courage. He is the birth of real courage and not just, “. . .a man with a gun in his hand” (Lee 112). 

 Atticus Finch is not the only one readers should look up to because Mrs. Dubose displays astounding courage, she stays strong even when she is close to death. Mrs. Dubose is a seemingly grumpy old lady who harasses the kids every time they pass by. Atticus looks up to Mrs. Dubose. He tells Jem that her actions are true courage at the end of Chapter 10. She knew withdrawing from morphine would mean suffering yet she fought the devil called pain that haunted her and reaped her strength so she could die free from her addiction. This is courageous, she put herself through all that pain to reach her goal. After Mrs. Dubose's death, Atticus explains to Jem that she was sick for a long time, he then proceeds to ask Jem if he knew what her fits were. When Jem shakes his head in denial, Atticus goes on to tell Jem, “Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict. . .” (Lee 111). This is very tragic that this old woman is addicted to this drug for, who knows how long, and she has been relying on it for years, we can assume. Morphine is a very powerful and addictive drug, it is a potent opioid drug, millions of people have died from an overdose of opioids from 1999 - 2021. Atticus continues explaining, “She took it as a pain - killer for years, The doctor put her on it. She’d have spent the rest of her life on it and died without so much agony, but she was contrary--” (Lee 111). If she stayed on the drug could have relieved her pain and died peacefully, but she chose not to. Atticus further informs Jem by saying, “Just before you escapade she called me to make her will. Dr. Reynolds told her she had only a few months left. Her business affairs were in perfect order but she said, ‘There’s still one thing out of order.’” (Lee 111). Jem asked what that thing was and Atticus answered, “She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. Jem, when you’re as sick as she was, it’s all right to take anything to make it easier, but it wasn’t all right for her. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did.” (Lee 111). Mrs. Dubose is a savage, she slapped her addiction and the face and said, “No I refuse to keep doing this.” That is courage, true courage. She was afraid no doubt and in tremendous pain but she fought those demons. Atticus was trying to show that lesson to Jem, that you don’t need to be a superhero to be courageous. Mrs. Dubose, no matter how racist and cruel she was she fought her addiction so she could die free of it. She could have ended her suffering but she fought with essentially herself, her own body, her sickness and said to it, “I will fight through all this pain so, in the end, I can say I was free of morphine, I can say I was not an addict anymore and I conquered my addiction”, that is truly commendable. Atticus tells Jem, “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. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” (112). Then he goes on to say you rarely win as Mrs. Dubose did. She won. Mrs. Dubose struggled through her pain and suffering, she died free of her addiction despite all the pain she went through she stayed strong and achieved her goal. Atticus was trying to show Jem that despite her being cruel, she was fighting something, and even though it hurt her she was strong and overcame the challenge that was presented to her. She went up against the one challenger that rarely anyone beats, oneself, one's pain. Fighting against pure agony, is a difficult battle, she knew she was going to die on top of it yet she stayed strong and won over her overpowering addiction. Fear, Pain, Oneself. Those are the hardest fighters, the boss battles. Mrs. Dubose is the mighty champion, she defeated them all. Even while death was knocking on her door, and fate was whispering in her ear, the urge to swallow one of those pills, like a hand on her shoulder. But Mrs. Dubose bested them all, she bested the devil himself, she stared in his face with a twinkle in her eye and smiled. That is true courage. 

Although Mrs. Dubose showed great courage, Boo Radley also showed such courage because he went outside of his comfort zone to save the life of a child. Arthur (Boo) Radley is a mysterious character throughout the book. He never really appears and is mostly irrelevant to the story and is only present in Jem and Scout’s childhood when they wonder about him and try to get him to come out of the house. Boo Radley is a character with little information about him. What readers do know is that Boo supposedly stabbed his father with scissors. Boo hides in his house only coming out to give Scout a blanket when Miss Maudie’s house burn’s down and to save Jem’s and Scout’s lives. In Chapter 28 Scout and Jem were walking back from a fair. On page 260 Jem heard rustling. Scout tells Jem that it is just the rustling of her ham costume that she had to wear for the fair for the play that she was performing in. Jem then concludes that it is just Cecil. He says on page 260, “It’s just old Cecil . . .” (Lee 260). “He won’t get us again. Let’s don’t let him think we’re hurrying” (Lee 260). They continue walking and then when they stop again the footsteps don’t stop when they do as they did before but instead are running straight towards them. Jem tells Scout to run. Scout then trips and Jem gets attacked, later in the book we learn that the man that attacked them was Bob Ewell, lashing out his anger from the trial on the children. Jem breaks his arm in the shuffle and before Bob Ewell could kill him, Arther jumps out of the shadows to save them. It is too dark to see who it is in the chapter originally but in the next chapter Chapter 29, it is revealed that the hero was Arthur. Arthur risked his life to save the children from the clutches of the evil man Bob Ewell. This man who hides away in his house for years, jumped out of the dark curtains of the shadows to save two children he hasn’t even talked to. He is a hero, Jem could have been killed had Arthur not had come to save him. But Arthur, like a knight of the round table, Lancelot, rescued the children in need. This is admirable. Arthur showed true courage by choosing to leave the protective, hiding walls of his house to go and save them. Boo Radley doesn’t come out of his house because he is too scared. Boo Radley may see Scout and Jem as friends, someone he can help from the sidelines, watching over them. Boo Radley in the end is the kids’ guardian angel. He shows true courage for he could have been greatly afraid in that moment to do what he did but he conquered his fear. 

Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are far from similar, one a humble lawyer and a single father, another an old sick lady suffering on her deathbed, and the last a kid at heart hiding away from society and the world for years. But all of them came out of their shells, beat the devil known as fear, and conquered it no matter how strong the urge was to cease all even when threatened/faced with death. Everyone feels scared sometimes but readers should learn from these characters, they should be inspired to overcome their fears and push on. In the real world there are many people who show courage. Firefighters, veterans, doctors. These people risk their lives to help us. Those workers are not the only ones who show courage, there are countless individuals who have shown courage.  Courage can be hard but no matter how scary times may get pushing through and showing courage is admirable. Many people may confuse courage with bravery or fearlessness. Bravery is more like a trait or an instinct. A brave person is a person who sees a dangerous situation and immediately reacts without thinking. Fearlessness is when you have no fear. But courage on the other hand is seeing a dangerous situation or a dangerous or scary experience and acting even though you were scared. Doctors do this every day, especially more so because of Covid. Yet they push through to try to save as many people as they can even when millions of people are dying around them. Veterans, who were in the military have risked their lives for us, for our country. Policemen, nurses etc. The list could go on. You don’t have to be Superman to show courage. Normal people every day can save lives. Atticus said in this very book, “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.” (Lee 112). This quote is the one that readers should take to heart.