My essay for English

Courage [Kuhr- ij]
Noun-
The ability to do something that frightens one.

 If you follow everyone else’s footsteps, then you are not showing courage. Doing what you think is right may be what everyone else thinks is wrong. It takes a great person to stand up for what they believe in, even if every single person in the world is sitting down staring at them in disgust. “Courage is doing what you think is right even if the odds of succeeding are against you.” Many characters in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee show what real courage is by fighting for what they believe in, the right thing, and they never sat down to join the others.

 "Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." Atticus Finch states. In the eyes of his children Atticus Finch was the best person in the world. He did everything to help his children, to help his community, and to help Tom Robinson. When the community was scared of the rabid dog, Tim Johnson, he shot the dog. He saved everyone from danger and showed that he wasn’t scared. The world is a bitter place and when the words, “#&(%^*-lover,” come out of the mouth of Francis, Atticus didn’t care because he was one. He didn’t care if people were black or white and that’s why people in the town of Maycomb, Alabama despised him so. He knew that there was nothing wrong with Tom Robinson or any other black person in the world, and that’s why he defended Tom, because he knew it was the right thing to do.

 “’Do you defend n******, Atticus?’ I asked him that evening.

 ‘Of course I do. Don’t say N*****, Scout. That’s common.’

 ‘ ‘s what everybody at school says.’

 ‘From now on it’ll be everybody less one-“’

 Atticus didn’t want his daughter disrespecting black people like everyone else had already done. He knew it was the appropriate thing to do by telling her to be different and not offend black people. They may have been hearing that word their whole lives, but that doesn’t mean black people necessarily enjoy being called that. People needed to learn that saying words like that were rude, they still are, and it needed to change, a change that was needed in their community. Atticus didn’t mind people saying that he defended black people because that’s what he was actually doing and he wanted everyone to know that. It was okay to defend Tom, but everyone said that it wasn’t supposed to be done because they were racist. Atticus was showing courage by standing up for Tom, he wasn’t afraid.

 Jem and Scout heard all the words of their neighbors. It bugged Scout at first until she sat down with her father and he explained to her not to take everything too badly, and also not to resolve something by beating people up. She then learned why her father had to defend Tom. Jem had to deal with the same exact things, but just in a different way. He had to help Scout, handle with all of her actions, and cooperate with the neighbors. He knew what his responsibilities were and did them without question. The children had to stay positive even if times were hard, but with that tough time they finally understood the lives of other people being judged. They learned to like the people who were misunderstood, even when no one knew why. They got to know the people for who they really were and they knew that understanding their lives was the correct thing to do. It was the right thing to do by showing everyone else that Tom, Boo, and other people that they weren’t bad, or strange.

 “’I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to n***** church.’

 They’s my comp’ny,’ said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice was strange: she was talking like the rest of them.

 ‘Yeah, an’ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.’

 A murmur ran through the crowd. ‘Don’t you fret,’ Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on her hat trembled indignantly.

 When Lula came up the pathway toward us Calpurnia said, ‘Stop right there, n*****.’”

 Calpurnia stood up to someone of her own race, because she wanted them to know that the children, Jem and Scout, were okay and weren’t going to do anything to them. She stayed strong in front of everyone in her church so they would be aware of what was going on. Calpurnia wanted blacks and whites to get along instead of fighting each other. Calpurnia taught herself how to speak, and act like the white people she was around all day to be accepted by them. Atticus didn’t care, they children didn’t care, but the people in the community did and she wanted to be known as normal in both environments. She worked hard, but when someone went against what she believed in she stood up in front of them and let them know how she felt. Not only did she do this, but she also raised the children, helping Atticus along the way.

 Mrs. Dubose an older lady in the community shows how she has remained to have courage. She was addicted to morphine, and her spirit showed how she remained strong throughout her fight. Miss Maudie showed what she believed in and let everyone know that she was against racism. “Miss Maudie’s voice was enough to shut anybody up.” Tom Robinson was convicted of a terrible crime, something he didn’t actually do. He fought so he would stay out of jail, and so he wouldn’t be known for such a terrible thing. Mayella Ewell, even if she was portrayed as a bad person, she showed courage too. She had to take care of her younger siblings without the help of a mother. Mayella also had to struggle with her father brutally beating her, but she didn’t tell a soul and stayed strong. Heck Tate and Judge Taylor show courage by helping Boo Radley, so he would be safe from harm and the wrong people. “Let the dead bury the dead.”

 To people all over the world who have read this book, Arthur (Boo) Radley is the character that shows the most courage. He dealt with people mocking him, making jokes about him, and not knowing his true personality. Nobody knew a lot about Boo, and most of them just assumed that he was a crazy person that stayed indoors at all times with no life. The truth about him though is that underneath all those accusations and lies, he was an amazing person. He was nice to everyone, he sewed up Jem’s pants that night of the fire, and gave Scout a blanket, and he saved the children’s lives, and he even helped them afterward. He was bold and dared to protect them when they were helpless. He was the one who proved that he could be more courageous than anyone else, he was a true hero and no one had any idea of what he was capable of.

 To Kill a Mockingbird teaches so much. It teaches you about racism, the lives of the depression, but even better, courage. It shows what people will do to save lives, help others, and act different for the good. The right thing may seem like the worst thing anyone could ever do to one person, but the best thing to another person. These people all succeeded in their own ways. When everyone put them down and shoved them to the ground they stayed up to help those in need, even when they didn’t need to. They wanted to, that’s what real courage is.