Book Reports / Courage exists in several forms ;To Kill a Mockingbird - Various types of courage [5]

Just another essay.

Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" explores how courage can be shown in different ways. WIth close reference to Chapters 1 - 16 of the novel, explain how the various types of courage are discussed.

Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" explores how courage can be shown in several important characters in the novel. They are Mrs. Dubose, Atticus, Jem and Maycomb county itself. Courage exists in several forms as cleverly depicted in the novel, such as childish courage, moral courage.

The first iconic character in the novel known for her split personality and great moral courage is Mrs. Dubose. She was a morphine addict and was addicted to morphine as a painkiller prescribed by her doctor for many years. Despite her being an old, frail lady, who could have just "make(made) things easier" by just continuing to take morphine as Atticus put it, she chose the other path contrary to popular beliefs. Instead, she persevered, choosing to "die beholden to nothing and no one", showing her sheer determination and will to live. Also, Atticus wanted Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose not only as a punishment for his misdeeds, but he also wanted to show Jem what true courage really was. He wanted to show Jem that a courageous person is not "a man with a gun in his hand", and that Mrs. Dubose was an excellent example and Atticus looks up to her despite her prejudiced remarks against him such as "nigger-lover". When Jem and Scout was reading to her, they were terrified of her "undulating lips" with "chords of saliva" dripping out of her mouth and that it had a "seperate existence of its own". What the children failed to see in the beginning was what lied underneath those gruesome series of withdrawal fits - true moral courage. Upon the death of Mrs. Dubose, Atticus also mentioned that "she won", not by having a gun in her hands, but with her sheer will power and determination. He hoped that Jem and Scout would be able to respect such a courageous old lady she was. Harper Lee also did not choose a principled character such as Miss Maudie in the portrayal of such courage, but instead used Mrs. Dubose to portray courage instead. This made Mrs. Dubose an interesting and outstanding character with contrasting characteristics in the eyes of the reader. Lee also indirectly trying to show that there is goodness in everyone, despite their evil natures.

Another character that portrayed different kinds of courage is Jem. However, his perceptions of courage changed throughout the course of chapters 1 - 16, as he began to mature. In the beginning of the novel, Scout mentioned that Jem had "never declined a dare" in his entire life, which exhibits his childish perceptions of courage, that courage was merely accepting to dares presented to him. In addition, he "loved his honour more than his head", which exhibits his stupidity rather than his bravery, because this shows that he accepts dares blindly and never though about his safety nor consequences of performing a dare. His new-found 'bravery' led him to commit ridiculous acts of 'courage', such as running up to the Radley's Place, touching it, and running back because he "wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn't scared of anyhing". This was obviously not respected and tolerated by adults in Maycomb, evident from Atticus' response to the children causing a ruckus in the Radley's Place by warning Jem to "mind your(his) own business and let the Radleys mind theirs".

However, upon entering adolescence, Jem began to show acts of moral courage. Such an example is when Dill was found hiding under Scout's bed when he fled home, and his first reaction was to inform Atticus, as Dill "ought to let your (his) mother know where you are (he was)". This was a turning point in Jem's maturityin his perception of courage, as he was able to put himself in the shoes of Dill's parents and he knows that they will be worried. Showing moral courage, he "broke the remaining code of childhood", and even though it was not in favour of Dill and Scout, he stood up and related to Atticus about the issue. From this occasion, we can draw similarties with Atticus, who went against the ordinary and what was deemed 'popular' by the Maycomb community, and took up the trial to defend a Black man, Tom Robinson, just like how Jem went against Dill and Scout to do what is right. This brings us to understand that moral courage is having the courage to do what is right, and not what is popular, even though it might anger those around you.

The last character which illustrates forms of courage in this novel is Atticus. Atticus is a principled lawyer who was a role model in the novel. Despite being called "nigger-lover" by many people in Maycomb, he still had the moral courage to take up the Tom Robinson case and defend Tom Robinson. He even mentioned that he would not be able to tell Jem and Scout "to not do anything" anymore should he give up on the trial case. This shows his determination to continue with the trial. Similarly, despite also having "one black man's words" as evidence against the Ewells(whites), he knew he was fighting a losing battle, and had "everything to lose" according to Link Deas and even Francis echoed Aunt Alexandra's rant about being "never be able to walk on the streets on Maycomb again". Despite setbacks after setbacks, Atticus still managed to muster enough moral courage to take up the case head-on, and persevere until truth be told. Another incident of Atticus' bravery can be seen from the Tom Robinson lynch mob confrontation when he was confronted by Mr. Cunningham and his gang. He practically used himself as a human shield to protect Tom Robinson at all cost, being his "client". Even Mr. Underwood had to cover Atticus with his "double-barreled shotgun" from his office above the jail, which depicts the seriousness of the confrontation, but despite that, Atticus remained strong and steadfast. Were is not for Scout's innocence which diffused the tension later, it could have ended in a bloody fight. This shows that Atticus is not afraid of dire consequences such as death, as long as he does what is morally right.

Lastly, Maycomb county also do present some forms of courage, as depicted by the scene of the fire breaking out in Miss Maudie's home. The people of Maycomb, in all codes of "dress and undress", and without hesitation, helped to shift "furniture" to "a yard" across her house. This shows that the people of Maycomb, who just woke up from sleep, who regardless of their dress code, went to help Miss Maudie, illustrating the courage and cohesion in Maycomb. Hence, it can be once again proved that there is good in everyone, despite the many flaws of Maycomb (such as their prejudice against blacks), the people are also courageous and helpful in times of crisis.

Therefore, it can be depicted in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" that courage is a prominent characteristic among the peeple in Maycomb.

Book Reports / Jem's Maturity; To Kill a Mockingbird [7]

I need help to see if my writing style is correct for this question. And my points.

Jem has matured significantly throughout the course of the novel. Analyse the ways in which he has matured in To Kill a Mockingbird with reference from chapters 1 - 16.

During the course of chapters 1 ï 16 in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem has significantly grown from a childish, playful boy that he was from the beginning of the novel, to a more calm, composed and mature figure resemblance to that of his father, Atticus. Harper Lee has incorporated the theme of Maturity into the novel through the development of Jem.

Before maturity, Jem bore a childish concept of courage. His concept of bravery was through the acceptance of dares imposed upon him. According to Scout, Jem had "never declined a dare" throughout his entire life. This exhibited his stupidity, rather than his bravery, especially when it was in Jem's nature to "loved (love) honour before his head", signifying that not only does Jem accepts dares blindly, he does not think of the consequences of a dare, or about his safety in performing a dare. Also, his ignorance that he was the bravest of all three children led him to commit ridiculous gestures of 'bravery' such as touching the front gates of the Radley house, as he "wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn't scared of anything". This form of courage is not respected by the adults in Maycomb, evident from the response of Atticus when he heard that the children was causing trouble in the Radley's place, resulting in him warning Jem "to mind his own business and let the Radleys mind theirs".

However, upon maturity, Jem possessed a different kind of courage ï moral courage, which is to do what is right even if it is not popular, or if it might anger those around him. An example is when he and Scout found Dill emerging from underneath Scout's bed in the middle of the night, and his first reaction was to "let your mother know where you are". This is very adult-like as it shows that Jem has finally been able to rationalize and analyse the situation, and to put himself in the shoes of Dill's parents should they be worried. Eventually, he "broke the remaining code of childhood", which shows that even though it was not in favour of Scout and Dill, he managed to muster his moral courage, and relate this problem to Atticus himself. Also, there are many instances where Jem tries to inculcate certain values or perspectives to Scout, even though Scout claims it as "maddening superiority". This shows that even though his sister will feel angry when Jem tries to "boss" her around, he still shares his viewpoints with her and sometimes order her to do things.

Jem had ridiculous perceptions of Boo Radley. According to the descriptions made by Jem, Boo was supposedly "six-and-a-half feet tall", "dined on raw squirrels and any cats" and his hands were "blood-stained". In actual fact, Boo was of contrasting descriptions to Jem's, and he was actually a kind-hearted person, but due to the prejudices in Maycomb towards Boo Radley, he was depicted as a monster. This showed his immaturity because even though he knows that these facts are false, he still continues to be ignorant of his beliefs, and does not rationalize with himself that the descriptions of Boo Radley were highly impossible. Jem also portrayed gender stereotype towards his sister, commonly referring to her as a "girl", which is in fact true, but his usage of that word was a form of a degradatory term used to put Scout down. Whenever Jem was rebutted by Scout, and he knows what she says is true, he would often relate her to a "girl" who "always imagined things" and "that's why other people hated them so". He says this also to indirectly get Scout to do what he wants, because then, Scout would refuse that she is not a "girl", and would prove it by doing whatever Jem asks her to.

However, all these changed when he started maturing. He had become more conscientious towards other people's feelings. An example was when he lost all prejudices against Boo Radley when he started leaving behind small gifts to the children in the knot-hole, and Jem, with good intentions to thank Boo Radley, decided to "give Boo Radley a note" to thank him. Similarly, when Nathan Radley sealed up the knot-hole with cement, Jem's "face was dirty at the right places" that night, showing that he had cried. His maturity kicks in because now, he is able to sympathise with Boo Radley, since all forms of communications with Boo Radley are now gone. In addition, during a conversation with Atticus, Jem admitted that Boo Radley "ain't ever harmed us, he ain't ever hurt us", showing the downturn of Jem's prejudices against Boo Radley. Furthermore, he now treats his sister with respect, using part of his twelfth birthday pocket money to buy Scout a "twirling baton", knowing well that she had always wanted one. Also, his conscientiousness is shown towards Atticus, when he told Scout to not bother Atticus with disciplinary issues because the "Tom Robinson case that's worryin' him to death". In addition, he also decided that he and Scout ought to "allow Atticus thirty minutes to himself after supper". These show that Jem was able to put himself in the shoes of Atticus and understands that Atticus needs the time and space to ponder about the troubling Tom Robinson case he has in his hands.

Finally, Jem used to have negative perceptions of Atticus' "inadequacies". He saw Atticus as an old hag, being "much older than the parents of out school contemporaries", He also mentioned that Atticus was "nearly blind in his left eye", but in actual fact, Atticus was known as the "deadest shot in Maycomb". He also found Atticus to be boring as a father, since he "did not do the things out schoolmate's fathers did" and when there was a football collaboration in school, "everybody's father was playing, it seemed, except Atticus", which made Jem frustrated because he was not able to join them due to Atticus being a 'cold blanket'.

However, when he enters adolescence, instead of stressing on the "inadequacies" of Atticus, Jem has ironically begun to become like Atticus, in a positive way. He was ultimately a reflection of Atticus. He "didn't want to do anything but read", just like how Atticus always reads when he gets back from work, and he aspires to be a "gentleman", just like Atticus. He also inherited the sarcastic nature of Atticus, evident in his conversation with Aunt Alexandra, when he said that the "Finches had an incestuous streak" and that the "Ewells" makes "fine folks", in rebuttal to Aunt Alexandra's rant on the different types of streaks there is in Maycomb. His likeness to Atticus was also depicted in the confrontation of the lynch mob to take down Tom Robinson, when "Atticus' hands when to his hips, so did Jem's", and Scout noticed the "resemblance between them" and that "mutual defiance made them both alike". This example proves the maturity of Jem ï from the journey to his childish self, to the principled Atticus.

Therefore, Jem's maturity was evident thoughout chapters 1 ï 16.