To determine the amount of courage, they must first explore the many definitions of what it means to be courageous. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Lee Harper in the 1960s, during the civil rights movement. In the book, Scout Finch talks about her adventures in her hometown of Maycomb County and all the events that took place in the summers before and after she entered first grade. The dictionary defines courage as the strength to overcome fear and pain, but it is different depending on the novel. Harper Lee uses the novel to show that true courage is fighting for what you believe in despite the consequences through the characters Tom Robinson, Jem Finch, and Mrs. Dubose. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the 1930s, racial injustice was the main component of society. Black people were discriminated against and considered trash. Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a member of a family considered inferior by the black community. Her family is untrustworthy, but the police continue to believe Mr. Ewell when he accuses Tom of raping his daughter. Atticus knows that Tom's case is doomed because any black man accused of raping someone, especially a white woman, will be convicted of racial injustice. Yet Tom still testifies against Mayella. He told the jury he did not rape her, but in fact she attacked him. In his testimony, Tom says "I felt sorry for her." Tom felt sorry for Mayella. He knew the prejudices of the world and didn't want her to suffer from them like he did. Tom was brave as he fought against inequality by revealing the truth behind Mayella's accusation and ignoring the consequences. During the journey, Jem watched with young eyes Tom's courage. Just like Tom, Jem also had courage. Jem started the book with little idea of ​​what courage was. At first he considered touching the Radley house to be courage. His actions confirmed Webster's dictionary definition, but later he would become a man of true courage, what Harper Lee would call courage. At the end of the track, Mr. Ewell swears revenge on Atticus and everyone else who tried to make him out to be a terrible person. The evening after a school play, as the children are walking home, they are both attacked by Mr. Ewell. He tries to stab Scout, but Jem pushes Mr. Ewell away even though Mr. Ewell is armed with a knife. Jem was a boy of twelve and would not win a fight against a grown man with a knife. Even though he knew the possibility of death, he protected his sister. Jem knew what was going to happen, but he continued anyway. He believed that defending his loved ones outweighed the possibility of death. When Scout needs comforting after her game, Jem helps her and Scout comments "Jem was getting almost as good as Atticus at making you feel good when things were bad." Atticus was the symbol of Jem's courage. He grew from a child with little knowledge of what courage actually was to a man who had all the traits of a courageous individual. Jem adapted her courage from Atticus, and to Atticus, Mrs. Dubose was a courageous lady even though her morals were not the same as Atticus's. Dubose was a woman sick in mind and body, but she was no less courageous. She was diagnosed with cancer and took morpheme to relieve the pain. At the time, morpheme was a very addictive drug that kept people alive until, ultimately, morpheme took their lives..