In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Harper Lee illustrates the theme of courage. In my opinion, courage is the ability to face pain or opposition without showing fear. However, according to Atticus Finch, “Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what”. There are two kinds of courage namely moral courage and the courage to take on and carry through a task which is certain to end in failure.
The most significant courage is the courage to take on and carry through a task which is certain to end in failure. Atticus illustrates this form of courage when he is willing to take on Tom Robinson’s case. Although he knows very well that the people in Maycomb will give him and his family a bad impression because he laws for niggers. Nonetheless he decides to help Tom Robinson. He puts his family’s life in danger by taking on the case. Jem and Scout are nearly killed by Bob Ewell on their way back from the Halloween party. When Atticus says “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience”, he strongly believes in doing what is right even though it may seem wrong to the society.
Defending the blacks is a taboo in the society. No matter how innocent they are, they are still considered as guilty by the society. Although some of the Whites know that Tom Robinson is innocent, they do not have the courage to stand up for him because they feel that the jury’s decision will be biased towards the Whites no matter how much evidence is provided to prove that Tom is innocent. Atticus chooses to do otherwise. As he says in “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win”. Although he knows very well that he will not be able to win the case, he tries his very best to persuade the jury. He also creates awareness to people that prejudice is happening in Maycomb. Besides that, he also teaches his children that being courageous is not about holding a gun in your hand but standing up for what is right no matter what other believes.
Moral courage is also shown in Atticus. Atticus shows strong moral courage when he is being criticized by the community ever since he decides to take on Tom Robinson’s case. For example, he does not side Jem when Mrs. Dubose criticized him. “Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for niggers, as you say, but to do something like this sick old lady is inexcusable. I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose”. Instead of being proud of his son for standing up for him, he makes Jem apologize to Mrs. Dubose. Atticus feels that everybody are entitled to think what they want and they are entitled to full respect of their opinions. Besides that, Atticus also shows strong moral courage when Bob Ewell cursed him and threatened to kill him. To Bob’s surprise, he does not fight back. Instead, he just says that he is too old to fight. Atticus also role models his sense of bravery by refusing to carry a gun to protect himself after Bob Ewell threatened to kill him. To Atticus, “having a gun around is an invitation to somebody to shoot you”. Atticus also strongly believes that withholding violence is the highest form of courage.
Another theme in the novel is prejudice. In my opinion, prejudice means an unreasonable dislike for a person based on their race, religion and sex. Prejudice is said to be the “Maycomb’s usual disease”. Black people occupy the lowest class level of Maycomb’s society as Maycomb’s white population of every class waste no time in reinforcing their rigid class rules. The characters, Atticus Finch and Aunt Alexandra have different opinions on racism and this has greatly influenced Scout’s life.
Aunt Alexandra is prejudiced against the Blacks and also some of the Whites in the community such as the Cunninghams. Aunt Alexandra believes that because the Finch family comes from a long line of landowners who have been the county for generations they deserve greater respect than do other people and they must comport themselves according to their status. She refuses to associate with both black and white citizens alike because they do not fill the same social position. From the first moment she steps into Scout’s house, she begins to show Scout and Jem that she is more superior towards the Blacks. She orders Calpurnia, the Finch’s housekeeper who is a black to put her bag in the front bedroom. She neither says “please” or “thank you” to Calpurnia, but just a simple command that puts Calpurnia into an inferior position. Besides that, she also tries to counsel Atticus to get rid of Calpurnia. “And don’t try to get around it. You’ve got to face it sooner or later and it might as well as be tonight. We don’t need her now”.
In addition, she is also prejudiced against the Cunninghams. She does not allow the children to invite Walter Cunningham for dinner and to play with him. “Because – he – is – trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what”. Her reason is simple and that is because the status of the Cunninghams does not par with the Finches. She wants Scout and Jem to “behave like the little lady and gentlemen” and “[they] should try to live up to their family name”.
On the other hand, Atticus has a completely different point of view from his sister. He shows the highest respect for everyone in Maycomb regardless their colour or class. His defense for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, proves his high ideals. Atticus not only shows his non prejudice through the trial for Tom Robinson, but also through his conduct with Calpurnia. Atticus turns down Alexandra’s attempts to fire Calpurnia. “Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are”. Atticus respects Calpurnia as an equal and he values everything that Calpurnia has done for the family.
When Tom Robinson trial begins, prejudice as racism can be seen clearly in the novel. Tom is being charged with the rape of a white girl. The county will not believe Tom’s word over the white girl because he is a Black. They do not think that it is possible for a white girl to actually want to kiss a black man. The town does not believe that a black man will feel sorry for a white girl and help her for no payment at all. Therefore, they assumed that Tom was guilty. The Whites in Maycomb have this evil assumption “that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women”. Although the truth is Tom is innocent, the Whites simply ignore the fact.
In conclusion, both themes play a major role in making the novel more interesting. Prejudice is a vicious cycle that is passed down from generation to generation and it is very hard to stop unless somebody is courageous enough to stand up for their right.
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