Atticus’s definition of courage is this, “‘…instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do…’” (149) The definition of courage from dictionary.com is, “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear.” Which of these definitions do you agree with more? Or do you have a different definition for courage? Atticus’s idea of “real courage” is when people stand up for what they want and what they believe in, even if it will not turn out well for them. Atticus demonstrates this kind of courage when we learn about him standing up for Tom Robinson in the trial. He knows that he will lose the trial because Tom Robinson is black and the Ewells are white, but he still sticks through it because he wouldn’t be able to hold up his head if he did otherwise.
If one knows that they are going to fail, is it always the right thing to do whatever “it” is? If there was a war being fought, and one side clearly knew that they were going to lose, would it be courageous to send more soldiers to fight? Do you believe that “real courage” depends on the situation? Or do you think that there is a set definition for courage, no matter what the situation is? Do you agree with Atticus that Mrs. Dubose was a very brave woman considering all the ways she was portrayed by Scout, but also by what Atticus told Jem about her? Why do you think Harper Lee included this part and the part with Mrs. Dubose? Do you think that this ties into any of the major themes of the book?
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