Tuesday, May 5, 2009

What are quotes that depict Jem, Atticus, and Boo displaying courage in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee?

There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict Jem showing courage. In Chapter 6, Jem narrowly escapes the Radley yard, but is forced to leave his pants behind after they get caught in the Radley's fence. Later that evening, Jem gets out of bed and says, "I'm goin' after 'em" (Lee 74). Despite the danger of entering the Radley yard, knowing that Nathan is waiting with a shotgun, Jem bravely sneaks out of the house to retrieve his pants.


Atticus displays courage in Chapter 15 when the Old Sarum bunch arrives to lynch Tom Robinson, who is locked inside the Maycomb jailhouse. When Walter Cunningham tells Atticus to move aside, Atticus says, "You can turn around and go home again, Walter" (Lee 202). Although Atticus is outnumbered and in a dangerous situation, he courageously defends Tom by refusing to step aside.


At the end of the novel, Boo Radley prevents Bob Ewell from murdering Jem and Scout by leaving the safety of his home and wrestling Bob away from the children. When Scout describes to Sheriff Tate what happened, she says,



"Anyway, Jem hollered and I didn't hear him any more an' the next thing—Mr. Ewell was tryin' to squeeze me to death, I reckon...then somebody yanked Mr. Ewell down. Jem must have got up, I guess. That's all I know..." (Lee 362).



The person who yanked Mr. Ewell down was Boo Radley. Boo Radley courageously entered a dangerous situation to defend two innocent children and successfully prevented Bob from murdering them.

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