The Courage of Atticus Finch

In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird Atticus Finch describes bravery with the 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. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. (chapter 11, page 149) He says this right after Mrs. Debose has died and quite her morphine addiction. In the quote he describes true bravery as doing something that you know is hard but persevering though and doing it in the end.

One real world example of someone who fits Atticus’ description of true bravery is Martin Luther King Junior. Martin Luther King Junior showed bravery by Fighting for civil rights even though he knew it would be challenging. He kept persevering and followed his core values. He believed that everyone should be treated equal no matter their race. He specifically Even after he was arrested multiple times he still didn’t give up.

He chose to fight without violence. Even while being threatened with violence, posters that promoted him as a liar and communist, and even an attack on his house that almost killed his wife and his young daughter king, continued to peacefully protest though speeches and marches. He encouraged others to join him in non-violent protest, in one of his speeches he said “…it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society.

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” (“The Other America” 1968) Throughout all his actions Martin Luther King Junior displayed true bravery.

Many people have shown the bravery that Atticus described. Another example of a person who showed this bravery was Malala Yousafzai. Malala showed bravery her town was taken over by Taliban extremists. She spoke out about how she disagreed with them not allowing girls to go to school to get an education. She chose to speak out against the Taliban. She spoke out even though she would be a target for them, and she would be more likely to get hurt. This shows how from a young age Malala Yousafzai showed courage. Even though she knew that people would try to hurt her she continued to speak out though speeches. Eventually she was hurt for speaking out against the Taliban. She was shot in the side of her head on her way home from school one day. She was taken to the hospital and survived. To this day she continues to speak out for girl’s education. She does this though her organization, The Malala Fund. The Malala Fund works towards ensuring that every girl gets 12 years of education. She showed courage because even after she was hurt for standing up for what she believed in she continued to fight for girl’s education even though she knew it would be hard.

Malala Yousafzai and Martian Luther King Junior are both real world examples that fit Atticus’s description of true courage. they both continued to fight for their beliefs even when they were threatened.