It can be anywhere from taking someone up on a dare, to shooting a rabid dog, to standing up for what you know is right, even if you"re standing alone. There are many examples of true bravery in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Bravery is an important theme shown by many different characters in the novel, like Scout, Atticus, and Mrs. Dubose. .
"She was. She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I"d have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her. 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 your licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Lee 112).
Atticus understands the childrens" impressionability and realizes the learning value and the experience they would get from visiting with Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose is a symbol of everything wrong with Maycomb: she is extremely racist, curses the children, and denigrates Atticus for representing a black man. Yet her bravery and determination justify her evilness since she tried to get rid of her morphine addiction before she died. .
Before taking the Tom Robinson case, Atticus knew the town would turn against him, his children, and the rest of his family. He knew that he would most likely lose the case, but he said, "this case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience-Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man." (Lee 104). Atticus said that he has to live with himself before he can live with other people. He has to do what he believes is right, and if he didn't take the case, he couldn't live with himself. .
"My fists were clenched and I was ready to let them fly. Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting any more.
