True CourageWhat is true courage? Could courage come from an old lady, or a man without a gun in his hand, or simply from the need to protect the people you care about? At the beginning of the story the character Scout thinks that courage is when you perform a very precarious or scary physical act. It is difficult for children that age to realize that more courage can be demonstrated in other aspects of life. But in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and her brother Jem Finch discover that courage can take many forms. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout witnesses her father, Atticus, shoot an angry dog. Even though Atticus didn't consider it a very courageous act, Jem and Scout were proud of their father. He wasn't trying to prove anything, yet they were still impressed. Later in the story, Jem and Scout meet the evil Mrs. Dubose. When he speaks badly of Atticus, Jem decides that the best way to make things right is to destroy Mrs. Dubose's camellias. After Atticus learns of this, he has Jem read every afternoon for a month. Jem and Scout soon discover that Mrs. Dubose was a very ill woman and took morphine to ease her pain. It was only after her death that Atticus explained to Jem and Scout how brave she was because she knew she was dying but was still determined to die free of her morphine addiction. He said, “I wanted you to see what real courage is instead of having the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand” (149) to show them that courage doesn't always mean doing something violent. Ms. Dubose fought against all odds, even though she knew it would cause her great suffering and ultimately lead to her death. Atticus shows courage when he accepts the job of d...... middle of paper... meant killing someone. Atticus showed courage when he accepted Heck Tate's lie about what really happened the night Bob Ewell was found stabbed to death. Atticus put his life and career on the line. He knew, as an officer of the law, that withholding information from an investigation could get him disbarred or thrown in prison. However, as many times in the past, doing what was right and fair prevailed in Atticus' way of thinking. As the evidence shows, courage can come from many different people in different ways. It is important for others to understand because people need to understand that there are different types of courage. Courage is not just a courageous rescue or killing of a huge wild animal. In reality, courage can come in all shapes and sizes and can come from anyone, no matter what color they are or how big or strong they are...