Nelson Mandela once said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Mandela). Nelson Mandela, one of the most admired world leaders of all time, went through the same journey to discover true courage that Jem and Scout do throughout the novel. They do this by first having a complete misconception of courage and gradually progressing to being courageous themselves, without really realizing it.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee demonstrates that true courage is often not ppreciated right away through Jem and Scout’s journey to understanding what it really means to be courageous and heroic. At the beginning of the novel, Scout explains that “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare” (Lee 16). This becomes fruitful when Dill dares Jem to touch the Radley house, and he does (Lee 18). In these actions, two things immediately come to light. First, Scout perceives Jem’s daredevilish nature to be courageous, when it is in fact reckless and childish.
After Jem follows through with the dare, Jem and Dill’s ideas of courage re also shown to be twisted because they see simply touching the side of a house as an act of heroism. Later, when consulting Scout about their mistake in going up to the house and peering in the window, Jem says, “We shouldn’a done that tonight, Scout” (Lee 75). At this point, Jem recognizes that they had the courage to face their ignorant fear of Boo Radley when they went to his house, but now he has the courage to recognize and acknowledge that what they did was wrong, instead of being quiet and getting away with it.
In this situation, the diction allows Jem to be portrayed as a superhero character who lways does what is right to Scout once more, which, despite slowly inching towards a real act of courage, still causes a misconception of heroism. Jem’s reflection on their actions ultimately begins the path to discovery of true courage. As the novel progresses, Jem continues to be portrayed as a figure of false heroism, but Atticus is introduced with the wisdom and discernment to teach his children what it really means to be courageous.
Jem begins to overcome his cowardice of past experiences when Scout states, “Jem, having survived Boo Radley, a mad dog and other terrors, concluded that it was only owardly to stop at Miss Rachel’s front steps and wait, and had decreed that we must run as far as the post office corner each evening to meet Atticus coming from work” (Lee 133). This demonstrates that Jem still has a false idea of what it means to be courageous, and both he and Scout still see him as an invincible creature of bravery.
Immediately after this statement, when faced with Atticus protecting the town by shooting a mad dog, Scout writes, “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived” (Lee 134). In this sudden development, Scout dramatically recognizes the heroism in her father in contrast to her foolish courage in Jem. From the first few chapters, Scout and Jem have slowly begun to progress towards recognizing real courage.
The first instance in which Scout and Jem consciously realize true heroism is when Atticus almost forces it upon them through their punishment with Mrs. Dubose. After the experience, when asked why he made Jem and Scout spend time with her, Atticus explains, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that ourage is a man with a gun in his hand” (Lee 149). This demonstration denounces Scout’s perception of Atticus’s bravery in shooting the dog, and shows both children how they should be seeing courage. Because of how much Scout looks up to Atticus, Scout and Jem begin to understand real courage.
This continues when Tom Robinson’s trial approaches. After Tom is killed and Atticus informs Aunt Alexandra, Scout, and Calpurnia of his death while Alexandra has other ladies over, both Scout and Aunt Alexandra must return to the gathering without any indication of what has happened. Scout explains that “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could l” (Lee 318). After growing up as a tomboy and being discouraged by Jem for turning into a girl, Scout has struggled against Aunt Alexandra’s wishes for her to become a proper lady.
Now faced with personal turmoil intertwined with societal troubles, Scout sees Aunt Alexandra manage herself despite the situation and must do the same. This small step of courage is not necessarily recognized by others, but is most definitely important to Scout’s later discovery because of her recognition of a courageous act nd executing it without a misconception. After Tom’s death, the theme of courage becomes more prominent because it relies heavier on Jem and Scout’s growing understanding of heroism and less on the actions of those around them.
On their way home from the Halloween celebration, Jem exhibits courage through the quote”It’s just old Cecil,’ Jem said presently. ‘He won’t get us again. Let’s don’t let him think we’re hurrying” (Lee 349). In this statement, Jem only means to convince Scout and himself that they are safe and only being pranked, but in doing so, he is saving them from a lot of worry and panic. After the attack by Bob Ewell, Scout is heroic when she says, “I’m all right, Aunty,’ I said, ‘you better call” (Lee 353), showing that she cares about her brother being okay despite her own trauma.
At this point in the story, Scout’s courageous actions are clear to the readers but not necessarily to her. When she walks Arthur Radley home, she thinks to herself that “.. if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do” (Lee 373). Because Mr. Arthur does not articularly enjoy being around other people or the light of day, Scout does him a large favor by walking him home, showing heroism in protecting his privacy and solitude.
Scout also has the courage to do this in front of her neighbors and despite any residual fears of his house. This becomes the final major act of heroism in the novel, and it is finally one done by Scout. At this point, she is aware that true heroism is often doing what no one else will do and overcoming your fears for the better of yourself and others. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates through Jem and Scout that being courageous irst requires a journey to understanding what it truly means to be heroic.
At first, Jem and Scout have a completely incorrect idea of what it means to be courageous. As the novel progresses, they begin to understand that courage is overcoming fear to help others without pride. By the end of the novel, through gentle lessons from Atticus and their own experiences with peril, Jem and Scout exhibit true courage of their own. Jem and Scout’s progression and development shows that knowing what it means to be a hero takes a long journey of experience, but the result is a newfound courage within.
